Qin Jingzhou formally introduced Ling Jing and Ling Jing’s newly acquired cheap son to his nephew and children. After everyone exchanged greetings, he beckoned to his daughter.
Blushing, Wanwan edged forward, her restless little hands wringing together before finally looping around her father’s arm.
Seeing this, Qin Jingzhou chuckled and said, "Don’t blame yourself. Su Huaizhen isn’t just anybody. Aren’t you all curious why my condition suddenly improved so much? Although Xiao Jin and Wanwan contributed the most, Linlin was a close second," he exchanged a smile with Ling Jing, "but I also had a bit of a fortuitous encounter, though I can’t tell you about it for now."
Wanwan’s eyes widened, "Dad, don’t tell me... is it a supernatural... ability?"
Qin Jingzhou ruffled his daughter's hair, "My girl is so clever." With a flick of his wrist, a cup on the table seemed to float in the air as if pulled by invisible strings, then landed straight in his hand.
Ling Jing smiled but said nothing.
The members of the Xiao family and little Bao sat wide-eyed, all struck speechless.
Qin Jingzhou deliberately gave the Xiao family a moment to digest this, saying, "The world is heading for great changes. Old fellow, we’d better get ready in advance."
The Old Master pressed a hand to his chest. "Let’s wait until your brother comes back, then we’ll all sit down together to discuss."
Qin Jingzhou agreed with a laugh. He glanced at the children, whose eyes seemed to burn with excitement. "Your talents are so-so, so I’m going to have to think of a way to solidify your foundations."
Wanwan mumbled quietly, "Dad, there’s no need to be polite. The few of us really do have pretty poor talent. If we were truly gifted, we’d be able to use spells all on our own by now, just like you... or Su Huaizhen."
Qin Jingzhou said, "You really are a sharp one."
Wanwan grinned sheepishly.
Half an hour later, Eldest Brother Xiao hurried home.
Qin Jingzhou opened the fridge behind him, took out a bottle of water, and made it leap precisely into Eldest Brother Xiao’s hand.
Not only was Xiao Jinhai not surprised, he only looked more at ease. He relaxed, gripping the water bottle, and sat beside his brother. "Let me tell you, I had a hunch long ago that you weren’t an ordinary person... This day you’d shine was bound to come, wasn’t it?"
That hunch couldn’t have been more off the mark.
Qin Jingzhou didn’t bother to correct his dear brother. He placed a hand on his shoulder and started discussing with the family what supplies they should begin stockpiling. At the end he reminded them, "The rise of spiritual energy is unstoppable, and the officials can’t possibly be completely in the dark."
That was enough. The Xiao family were never the type to miss a beat.
Wanwan felt her dad had finished with serious matters, so she carefully asked, "Then, Dad, what should I do about Su Huaizhen?"
Qin Jingzhou replied, "Su Huaizhen’s Confusion Technique is decent training for you all. It’ll help build your willpower. When resources are equal, cultivation comes down to perception and temperament."
Wanwan nodded in understanding. "I get it, Dad. I’ll treat him like an experience booster for leveling up."
Qin Jingzhou smiled, then looked at his son, who hadn’t said a word since coming home. "You two are all I have in this life."
Xiao Jin felt his "petty heart" had been seen through by his father, and was half embarrassed, half relieved. "Oh."
Qin Jingzhou repeated, "You and Wanwan are my own flesh and blood."
Xiao Jin’s face flushed red. "I’ll remember that, Dad." Honestly, coming home and seeing Ms. Han Lin, he’d felt a buzzing in his head. He couldn’t help feeling unhappy: He and his sister had just gotten a taste of the good life, and now fate was about to swing back into family power struggles? Yet when he watched his dad lift a cup out of thin air, he was so thrown by the turn of events he nearly couldn’t catch up.
He raised his head and said sincerely, "Dad, how could a rich second generation possibly compare with a cultivation second generation?"
Wanwan lightly rested her head on her father’s shoulder. "So... no matter what, it’s always about who your dad is."
Eldest Brother Xiao laughed. "To be honest, your dad and I both relied on our fathers growing up."
The Old Master took a sip of tea. "You think your grandfather didn’t rely on his own father when he was young?"
Qin Jingzhou concluded, "It runs in the family."
Everyone burst out laughing, and the atmosphere in the study grew lively again.
Meanwhile, while the Xiao family held a small family meeting, Ling Jing and her Happy Son, Xiao Bao, excused themselves. She went to the large suite prepared for her on the third floor for a true heart-to-heart with her son—because Xiao Bao wasn’t possessed or rebirthed, he was just born especially gifted and thus mature for his age.
Ling Jing cupped Xiao Bao’s chubby face, speaking seriously, "Xiao Bao, even if I marry Uncle Xiao, I won’t have any more children. You will always be my only one."
Xiao Bao screwed up his little face and thought for a while before asking, "Mom, are we... living under someone else’s roof?"
Ling Jing hugged her son, "Your idiom skills are on point." Then she held out her hand, and in her palm a tiny snowflake slowly formed.
Xiao Bao’s eyes grew wide again. Carefully, he poked the snowflake in her palm with a little finger, then exclaimed in delight, "It’s cold, Mom!" Suddenly, he understood why his mother had fallen in love at first sight with his new dad...
Ling Jing pinched her son’s nose. "Not to brag, but there aren’t many people in the world better than me."
Xiao Bao put on a serious face. "Looks like New Dad is even better..."
Ling Jing pinched his dumpling-cheeks. "Look how smart you are!"
Xiao Bao dove into his mother’s arms, giggling.
Before dinner, the Old Master’s Steward returned with some news: Father Su had completely lost his nerve. The divorce agreement drafted by his lawyers included no hidden traps, aside from offering no money. Father Su was also willing to give Ms. Han custody of Xiao Bao.
Ling Jing thanked him and said, "Let’s settle this quickly—I want to sign the papers as soon as possible."
The Old Master made the decision on the spot. "Call him over and get the signing done quickly!"
When Father Su got the notification to come sign the divorce papers at the Xiao Family Estate, he was stunned... but no matter how much he cursed the Xiao family in his heart, he still meekly brought lawyers and bodyguards straight to the Xiao estate.
Father Su had braced himself for an onslaught. But once inside the villa, he was ushered to the living room, where Han Lin and Xiao Jingzhou were waiting for him.
Xiao Jingzhou’s looks were truly... universally attractive, and for a moment, Father Su felt as though he might understand his wife after all...
He hurriedly chased those strange thoughts away, since he wouldn’t dare to make trouble at the Xiao house. With a stony face, he signed the divorce papers, tossed out a sarcastic "Hope you get what you want," and stomped out with his people.
Ling Jing didn’t care at all about Father Su’s impotent rage. She cared more about Su Huaizhen’s progress in drawing luck. "It feels like the Su family is done for."
Qin Jingzhou said, "Pretty much. At this point, Su Huaizhen will have set his sights on my two kids."
"Does he really think half-baked Confusion Techniques are enough? Su Huaizhen sure is confident."
"That’s how Fate’s Son should be."
"He whom the heavens would destroy, they first make mad," Ling Jing laughed. "I’ll help you cultivate a backup Fate’s Son."
"I’ll take you to see the world across the way tonight."
Just like the night before, Qin Jingzhou summoned players right at midnight.
This time, he brought Ling Jing with him through the crystal wall to his son Qing’s domain in advance...
Ling Jing watched as a rushing "mountain of fur" barreled toward them, then slammed straight down on the big boss like Mount Tai. The big boss firmly caught the "mountain," half his face buried in white fluff, and introduced, "This is Xiao Qing."
Faced with the furry Xuan Qing, Ling Jing’s eyes lit up. She stepped forward and gently poked the giant paw draped across the big boss’s shoulder. "Remember me?"
Xuan Qing sniffed, "Of course. Hello, Auntie Ling."
He didn’t recall what Ling Jing’s soul looked like, but from the faint scent on her and how she’d spent most of the day with his father in the other world, the answer was obvious.
A Frost Wolf’s tail wasn’t appropriate for the boss’s girlfriend to rub, but its paw was fair game.
Ling Jing kneaded Xuan Qing’s big paw, grinning from ear to ear.
Back at his son’s manor, the three of them discussed the upcoming Training Plan. Then, at the designated time, Qin Jingzhou summoned the players.
When the weightless and distorted sensations faded, An Qi snapped her eyes open. Her brother, An Jin, appeared not far away, and their cousin Xun Qiushui was standing right next to him.
She grabbed her cousin and ran over to her brother, not caring who was watching. "Brother, did you feel anything this morning?"
An Jin looked troubled, but answered honestly, "Back in the real world, I could sense things again. I even knew when they poured Symbol Water down my throat... Sounds far-fetched, but I have this feeling the master Mom and Dad hired has ulterior motives. He wasn’t treating me, he was... trying to control me."
"Good intuition. The other party wanted to refine you into a Living Dead or a Zombie for their own use."
The three siblings whipped their heads toward the voice. The beautiful NPC who had given them their first Task was approaching.
An Qi ignored the other players’ stares and asked, "Excuse me, what should we do?"
"Have fun playing the game," Qin Jingzhou said, departing immediately.
The players, after considering a moment, threw themselves into chopping wood with renewed energy.
Once they’d exchanged enough points, a training robot transformed into a goblin and snuck up on them for a sneak attack... and once again, the players all got wiped out.
Watching the surveillance feed, Qin Jingzhou shook his head helplessly. "Their combat sense is a mess."
Xuan Qing flicked his tail. "It’s like they’re not making any progress at all. Dad, all ten of your picks are scholar-types."
In the story, these players—including An Jin—were multi-talented in both the civil and military arts.
Of course, none of them were really desperate yet.
Qin Jingzhou sighed. "Never mind. I’ll add a few who know how to fight."
He looked over the system list and picked another ten: five with military backgrounds, the rest ordinary people.
Freshly-resurrected, the ten players stared as a new set of ten “colleagues” materialized out of nowhere.
The two groups stared at each other. Xun Qiushui pushed up his glasses, ready to speak, but An Qi waved enthusiastically at her childhood friend, Mo Bowen. At that moment, a thunderous voice sounded overhead. "Newbies, get over there and join the veteran crew to slay monsters and chop wood! If you don’t meet quota today, you’re all out!"
A handy message appeared in the upper left of the players’ vision: If you do not meet the quota today, the lord will delete your accounts.
The players: ...Oh my God!