Li Yang left his father's study, his hands resting behind his head as he moved through the tree-like hallway with a leisurely gait. His mind was drifting slightly, curious about the body cultivation technique he had just been given. It came from the Heavenly Queen so it was guaranteed to be something extremely great, but that also meant that it was likely exceedingly difficult to cultivate it.

But since his father had given it to him that meant that Li Tian felt that Li Yang would be capable of cultivating it. It could be considered a sign of trust and faith, something his father rarely showed others. Li Yang's crimson pupils landed on a young black-eyed and blue-haired boy that was making his way through the hallway with a serious expression, his own lips curving into his usual cheeky smile.

"Oh, Lil Yongi, you're actually able to walk again? I thought you'd be out for several days after you were beaten like that, almost expected you to just lay around and cry until your pillow was soaked and your nanny comforted you by stroking you gently down below."

The young boy, Li Jueyong, stiffened when Li Yang sauntered over and called out to him, his pupils trembling slightly. He sucked in a long breath to stop the trembling of his pupils and loosen up his body, his movements still somewhat stiff as he turned his head to look at Li Yang. He was clearly rather annoyed at the way he was spoken to, but Li Yang didn't care and kept on prodding him.

"Hey, didn't you wonder if I could keep acting so cockily and carefreely after getting beaten down in front of everyone? Didn't you say you were going invoke the rite of passage to have someone challenge me? What happened to that, eh? Did that plan get sidetracked after you got your ass handed to you? And I must say, that was a magnificent loss, the way your head got stomped into the stage was magnificent. It's a good thing you were knocked unconscious, otherwise, I'm afraid you might have ended up vomiting blood when you heard how loudly I laughed."

Li Jueyong's fingers stiffened and twitched in a manner that made it look like he wanted nothing more than to dig them into Li Yang's throat to silence him. But he didn't move in the end, sucking in breaths so deeply that he looked like he was hyperventilating. Li Yang saw that Li Jueyong had no intention to fall for his provocation so he shrugged his shoulders and stepped past him, his hands still resting behind his head. But just as he moved past him, Li Jueyong spoke up.

"I'm not going to thank you, not in a million years."

No matter what his reasonings were, Li Yang had gotten revenge for him by publicly beating the one that had defeated him. But he refused to thank Li Yang for it, he still couldn't stand Li Yang's attitude and mannerism, it was unbecoming of his strength and status. Li Yang's steps halted for a split second, his head turning slightly as he cast a glance at Li Jueyong.

"What makes you think I want your thanks or gratitude? Come back with them when you're stronger than me, then they might actually be worth something."

Li Yang continued walking as he spoke, not even bothering to remove his hands from his head as he chuckled at Li Jueyong. His words didn't save any of Li Jueyong's face, causing his fingers to twitch violently once more. But he once again didn't take any actions, nor did he say anything else as he watched Li Yang's back disappear down the hallway.

Li Yang reached the end of the hallway and arrived in the circular building that had several smaller hallways leading away from it. He headed over to the centre of the room, making his way around the various small spatial arrays until he reached the one he was looking for. He activated the spatial array and left the area, taking three more spatial arrays to reach the building he was aiming for.

The building, basically a two-story wooden cabin, was situated next to a lake that was lined with weeping willows that were constantly blooming with icy-blue plum flowers. Li Yang's cheeky grin gave way to a softer smile as he looked at the building, plucking one of the blooming flowers before he made his way into the house.

"Mother, are you awake?"

Li Yang's voice echoed throughout the living room he arrived in, a soft response coming from one of the rooms beyond the short hallway to the right of the living room. Li Yang swiftly moved through the living room and hallway, pushing open a wooden door and entering a room that had a window so large it practically took up the entire wall, allowing those within the room to gaze upon the lake.

The room was furnished in a very simple manner, containing a bed, a nightstand, two bookshelves standing right next to the bed, and a single chair. Lying in the bed was a mature and graceful woman, her icy-blue hair hanging loosely down past her shoulders and onto the bed, her green eyes slightly sunken in. She looked to only be in her thirties, but her body was rather thin and frail, her skin was a bit pale and there were a few wrinkles starting to appear by her eyes.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The woman smiled gently at Li Yang, who dragged the chair over to the side of the bed and sat down. He took the flower he had plucked and fastened it to the woman's hair by placing the stem on her ear, stretching out his hand and presenting his open palm once he finished.

"Arm."

The woman, his mother and the parent he had inherited nearly 80% of his features from rolled her eyes at Li Yang's simple statement. But she, Li Fang, still raised her left arm and placed her forearm into his palm, only uttering a playful complaint.

"Really, that's always the first thing you do. Do I really look like I've gotten that forgetful?"

Li Yang grinned in response to her complaint, rolling back the sleeve of her blue robe and revealing a complex array that had been engraved directly into her flesh. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out a vial filled with pulverized Spirit Stones, gently placing some of the dust into certain spots of the array while bantering with his mother.

"Nah, you don't look forgetful, just old and decrepit. Then again, getting forgetful is pretty common as you get older, so maybe?"

Li Yang's bantering was met with a weak knock on his head from Li Fang's other hand, her lips curling slightly as she spat out her words in an overly exaggerated and heart-broken manner.

"Bah, what does a brat like you know? I really don't know how we raised you to turn you into this, you've got none of your father's rigid charm or my own elegance, grace, and composure."

Li Yang only grinned and laughed in response to her boasting, continuing to carefully place the Spirit Stone dust into the appropriate spots of the array. His mother was weak. Many years ago she had been mortally wounded by an elder of the Star-Scorched Valley sect, the sect ranked 53rd on this planet, and not even the sect was able to truly heal the wounds.

The best they could do was engrave this array directly into her body and use it to support her vital functions, drawing the array anew every five years. Without this array, his mother was unlikely to last for even one more month so even though his father visited her every other day and someone else came to check up on her every day, Li Yang still visited her as often as he could to check up on her. A soft and warm silence descended over the two people, Li Fang breaking it after a few moments.

"I've heard that you've been introduced to your principal wife. I'm sorry that I couldn't come to meet her, but what is she like? Is she nice, funny, beautiful, cheeky like you, maybe a bit rude?"

The array engraved into her flesh supported her vital functions but that was the best it could do so it was hard for Li Fang to leave her bed for extended periods. Making the array larger also wouldn't help as the function wouldn't change, nor did the sect have better arrays they could use so she was basically completely bound to her bed. Li Yang finished applying the Spirit Stone dust and allowed Li Fang to move her arm again, smiling faintly as he responded.

"She's very interesting. She puts on a cold front but I've already managed to crack it a few times against her will so I'm certain I can do it again in the future. She definitely has her cheeky moments, I can't deny that, but she's far from as cheeky as this brat right here. And she's definitely beautiful, I can confidently say that she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Just thinking about all the trouble that Fairy Goddess is going to get me into his giving me a headache, but all the gloating I'll be able to do will probably make up for it. Don't worry, I'll bring her here next time so that you can meet her."

That was Li Yang's honest thoughts about Mei Kongxu, an interesting girl in an otherwise dreary and serious world, she was definitely a far cry better than the likes of Li Jueyong. Li Fang's smile turned even gentler, and slightly conflicted, when Li Yang finished his assessment. She quickly slid off the simple and unadorned silver ring she wore on her right hand and passed it to Li Yang.

"I know that you probably don't feel comfortable having a marriage forced upon you for the sake of the sect, and I am truly sorry that you can't even choose your principal wife for yourself. But there will come a day when you find a woman you love, a woman you chose for yourself. And when you do, you can give her this ring. This ring has been within the Li family for several thousand years already, it is reserved for those we truly love. I got it from your father, who got it from his mother, who got it from her mother, who then, in turn, got it from her mother, the one who first crafted this ring. Keep it close and keep it safe, and when your heart has managed to make its own choice then you can pass it on."

Li Yang looked at the unadorned ring, which still carried the warmth of his mother's finger. Li Fang held onto Li Yang's hand and clenched his fist for him, making sure that he held the ring tightly while she smiled at him. This was the only thing she could do for him now, promise him that there would come a day where his heart would get to choose his own wife. Li Yang smiled softly to reassure his mother, putting the silver ring into his own interspatial ring to keep it safe.

He then spent a few more hours with his mother, the two passing the time by talking about books she had read, things she had seen, what Li Yang had done during the sparring session, or just every day things they did to pass the time. She chased him away once the sun started to set, shooing him away with her gentle yet slightly tired smile.

Li Yang could only leave after being chased away by his mother, promising that he would visit her again soon before he left. He took several spatial arrays to return to his own house, immediately heading to the large stone room that served as the training room. He closed the door and sealed off the room, taking out the burnt box containing the bone that his father had given him. It was time to study the Heavenly Queen's 1st Star, the foundation of the Heavenly Queen's body cultivation technique. And the basis of the technique was one he hadn't expected, overpowering and utterly crushing amounts of force.