Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

Jiang Yining calmly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's nothing."

"My mother is discussing some academic questions about the origin of life with this uncle."

She made up a story without batting an eye.

Ji Lingxiao's lips twitched slightly.

Academic issues? This woman is a master of fabrication!

Jiang Lei nodded as if he understood, his gaze falling on Ji Lingxiao's disheveled robes and pale face, his small brows furrowing.

"He looks like he's about to die."

"Mother, shall we bury him? The wind in the Gobi Desert is too strong; he'll be cold."

The child's innocent words caused the man on the ground to freeze.

Jiang Yining bent down and rubbed her son's head.

"No, Da Bao."

"This uncle is still useful, so he can't be buried yet."

Ji Lingxiao suddenly opened his eyes, his icy blue pupils filled with a mixture of anger and humiliation that almost solidified into a tangible form.

But the moment he moved, the soreness and pain in his limbs made him gasp.

Within his dantian, the warm, moist wood-elemental life force was slowly repairing his broken meridians.

He recovered about 30% of his strength and could barely move, but his vital essence was depleted, making it impossible for him to use his full strength.

Right now, he's just a sitting duck with the title of Sword Master all but empty words.

Jiang Yining didn't look at him anymore and took Jiang Lei's hand.

"It's getting dark, Mother, go and prepare dinner."

"Then I'll continue practicing my sword!"

Jiang Lei obediently responded, picked up the heavy black iron sword that was disproportionate to his height, and walked to an open space to the side.

He shouted and began to wave his weapon meticulously.

Night gradually enveloped this desolate Gobi Desert.

Jiang Yining lit a campfire, the flames licking the monster's legs propped up on it, making a sizzling sound.

While regulating her breathing, she kept an eye on the two people not far away.

Ji Lingxiao had already sat up, leaning against a huge rock, his face still pale.

His eyes were fixed on the small figure practicing swordsmanship.

Jiang Lei practiced very diligently.

Its small body seems to contain boundless power.

Each sword strike was accompanied by a faint flash of lightning, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Domineering and sharp.

However, in Ji Linglingxiao's eyes, this sword technique was full of flaws.

Its spirit soars high, its intent precedes the sword.

This child clearly possesses an innate, clear-sighted sword mind and a spiritual awareness far exceeding that of his peers, yet his sword intent is completely scattered; he only knows how to use brute force.

The wrist angle shifted slightly, causing 30% of the force of the sword's edge to be reduced.

His footwork was a beat too slow, leaving him wide open. If he were facing an enemy, he would have already been cut down by the sword.

The spiritual energy flowed through the meridians in a very crude and chaotic manner, like a wild horse galloping about without any order, wasting the immense spiritual energy of thunder.

Ji Lingxiao's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

This is simply a waste of a peerless gem.

He dedicated his life to swordsmanship; the sword was his path, his destiny.

He couldn't tolerate it.

After an incense stick has burned.

Jiang Lei sheathed his sword and stood there, his face flushed and his forehead covered with fine beads of sweat.

He let out a long breath, preparing to take a rest.

"fool!"

A cold, sharp shout exploded without warning across the vast Gobi Desert.

The voice carried barely suppressed anger and disappointment.

Jiang Lei was startled by the shout.

He turned his head blankly and saw the "dying" bad guy staring at him with an extremely frightening look.

"That's not how you use a sword!"

Ji Lingxiao's voice was as cold as ice.

"Your intention precedes your breath! Is your 'Sword Mind Clarity' just for show?"

Jiang Lei was stunned for a moment, then his face turned bright red, not from being tired, but from being angry.

He gripped his sword tightly, glaring at Ji Lingxiao.

"Mind your own business!"

"You're a bad person!"

The child's innocent voice was filled with hostility and wariness.

"His spirit soars like a rainbow, his intent precedes the sword!"

Ji Lingxiao took two steps forward, and the imposing aura of someone who had long held a superior position unconsciously emanated from him.

"Is your 'Sword Heart Clarity' just for show? This 'Thunderclap Strike' technique is all about speed and sharpness, not weight and ferocity! You're spreading your lightning spiritual power like casting a net to catch fish—who are you going to kill?"

Jiang Lei gritted his teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped the sword: "I'm doing this to protect my mother! As long as I can kill the bad guys, that's all that matters!"

"With your mediocre, unorthodox swordsmanship?"

Ji Lingxiao scoffed, his eyes filled with disdain.

"If you encounter a true swordsman, you won't even have a chance to draw your sword, let alone protect someone! You'd be better off getting chopped into mincemeat first!"

"you--!"

Jiang Lei was so angry that he trembled all over, his small chest heaving violently.

Although he was young, he had a strong sense of self-respect, and he had earned his reputation in the Chaotic City, so he had never suffered such humiliation before.

"You're a bad person! I don't listen to bad people!"

"I'm your father!"

These four words were almost shouted out.

The wind suddenly stopped for a moment.

Ji Lingxiao was stunned after he finished shouting.

He looked at the little brat opposite him who seemed to be cut from the same mold as him, his Adam's apple bobbed, and a rare look of surprise and... embarrassment flashed across his perpetually icy face.

What did he just say?

How could he so readily admit that the child, which had always been a "bastard" and a "stain" in his heart, was just a "bastard"?

Jiang Lei was also dumbfounded.

He glanced at Ji Lingxiao, then turned to look at Jiang Yining, who had returned, his purple-gold pupils filled with confusion and shock.

father?

This word was completely foreign to him.

Jiang Yining simply said to Jiang Lei, "Don't listen to his nonsense. He's not your father; he's just a stranger who provided some raw materials."

Some materials were provided...

"you……"

Ji Lingxiao's chest heaved violently, and he couldn't catch his breath. A metallic taste rose in his throat.

He stared intently at Jiang Yining, his icy blue eyes bloodshot.

"Jiang Yining!" Ji Lingxiao gritted his teeth.

Jiang Yining ignored him, lowered her head, and spoke softly to her son in her arms.

"Da Bao, don't listen to his nonsense."

"You don't have a father."

"You are my child, all by myself."

Ji Lingxiao watched the scene of the mother and child leaning on each other, and saw the child hiding behind the woman, secretly observing him with a wary yet curious look.

He wanted to argue back, to tell the child that he was not a stranger.

But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't utter a single one.

Do you admit it?

To acknowledge this child born from an absurdity?

Then what is his Dao?

That night, no one spoke.

The flickering firelight illuminated three faces, each lost in their own thoughts.

the next day.

As soon as dawn broke, Jiang Lei got up again and continued practicing his swordsmanship.

He seemed to be trying to prove something, and he worked even harder than yesterday.

Every sword strike was delivered with full force.

But the more this happens, the more obvious the mistakes and flaws in the sword techniques become.

Ji Lingxiao sat cross-legged in the same spot, without moving all night.

He stared blankly, his eyes deep and unfathomable, lost in thought.

Jiang Yining was fiddling with a bunch of bottles and jars, seemingly making something, without even glancing at them.

Half an hour later.

Ji Lingxiao looked at the child's chaotic sword moves and felt uncomfortable all over, as if a million ants were crawling on his body.

That's the obsessive-compulsive disorder of a top-tier swordsman.

Even if the child doesn't acknowledge him, he absolutely cannot tolerate such a promising talent being ruined!