Ian Song didn’t stay in the study to watch Yellow Mountain’s entire breakthrough. Once his father reached the great-grandmaster realm, Ian left, since Harriet Gu was still at his house.
He couldn’t just leave her alone and ignore her.
So, while Yellow Mountain was breaking through to mid great-grandmaster, Ian was out strolling around New Dawn City with Harriet Gu.
New Dawn City was only a mid-sized city, but under Yellow Mountain’s rule, it was fairly prosperous.
Ian and Harriet had just returned to the City Lord’s Mansion when a servant hurried over, asking him to come to the study for a discussion.
"Let’s go!"
Ian grabbed Harriet’s hand and headed straight for the study.
"Ian, is it really okay for me to come along?" Harriet reminded him, a bit worried.
"Don’t worry about it. Sooner or later, you’ll be part of the Huang family anyway," Ian said with a grin.
Harriet’s cheeks flushed red at his words. She shyly protested, "I haven’t agreed yet!"
"So you’re not planning to agree?"
Ian turned to look at her, amusement in his eyes.
Faced with Ian’s teasing, Harriet huffed and said, "Of course I’m not agreeing!"
"That’s not up to you!"
Ian grinned wickedly, and without warning, pulled Harriet into his arms and kissed her hard. He didn’t let go until she went weak and collapsed against him, then asked, "So, do you agree now?"
At that moment, Harriet lay limp in his arms, her beautiful face blushing and her eyes dreamy. She lightly punched Ian’s chest, pouting, "You just love bullying me."
"If I don’t bully you, should I bully someone else?" Ian joked.
"Don’t you dare!" Harriet’s eyes flashed with a hint of menace.
……
After a while, Ian brought Harriet to the study.
Ian glanced at Yellow Mountain, seeing he had already broken through to mid great-grandmaster, and said, "Congratulations, Dad, on fully restoring your cultivation and reaching a new height."
You little brat," Yellow Mountain said with a laugh.
Harriet, come to Aunt Lydia!" Lydia Liu beckoned Harriet over. Though this girl was a bit cold, she really liked her—especially since she had already reached early grandmaster at such a young age, and would surely reach great-grandmaster in the future.
After a few words of family chat, Ian got straight to the point.
Dad, Mom, what price do we pay to ask Great-Grand-Master for help?
You'll have to enter Oblivion Peak to cultivate—of course, only if your Great-Grand-Master accepts you!" Yellow Mountain said.
What rules does Oblivion Peak have?" Ian asked again.
Yellow Mountain answered solemnly, "First, no one below great-grandmaster may leave Oblivion Peak. Second, once you join Oblivion Peak, you may not participate in worldly affairs."
In that case, I refuse to ask Great-Grand-Master for help!" Ian said firmly. With such rules, entering Oblivion Peak meant he couldn't complete his missions, so he had to refuse!
Hearing Ian's refusal, Yellow Mountain instinctively wanted to scold him, but remembering Ian was grown and had his own opinions, he instead said coldly, "Reason!"
Ian organized his thoughts and said slowly, "First, I haven’t been driven into complete desperation yet. Second, my goal is to become sect master of the Pristine Way Sect, then use that as a foundation to unite the Human Race and lead them to defeat the Demon and Devil Races!"
Hearing Ian’s words, the three present were all stunned.
After a while, Lydia Liu looked at Ian and said, "Baby, are you sure you’re not talking nonsense?"
No, this is my ideal—and something I must do in the future!
Ian insisted, reflecting on the system mission. He understood why the system tasked him with leading the Human Race to defeat the Demon and Devil Races, rather than exterminating them.
That’s because both Demon and Devil Races have god-level beings; it’s impossible to wipe them out completely.
Ian was confident in himself, but he wasn’t sure he could reach Martial God in fifty years.
After all, the vast Human Race only has three Martial Gods so far.
So what’s your next step?
Yellow Mountain asked in a deep voice.
Ian said, "I’m still too weak to confront the military head-on, so I plan to send you to the Blood River Battlefield. I have a good relationship with the commander there, Raymond Lei, and he can keep you safe!"
Nonsense! What do you take us for, baggage?" Yellow Mountain scolded, dissatisfied.
Enough, Old Huang!
Lydia Liu spoke up again: "You may have recovered your cultivation, but you’re still far behind the military. So, just follow Baby’s arrangements!"
Yellow Mountain shook his head. "No, I’m not going to the Blood River Battlefield!"
Yellow Mountain, do you think just because you’ve recovered, I can’t deal with you?" Lydia Liu snapped.
Yellow Mountain hurriedly explained, "Wife, don’t be angry, listen to me. What I mean is we shouldn’t go to the Blood River Battlefield. After all, it’s still military territory—even if the commander is close to our son, if the military insists he hand us over, could he really refuse orders?"
Lydia Liu nodded. "That does make sense!"
Yellow Mountain grinned. "Now that I’ve recovered my cultivation and even advanced, I plan to return to Oblivion Peak. Once there, not even the military could touch us."
Lydia Liu’s eyes lit up. "Good idea—let’s go to Oblivion Peak!"
Actually, Yellow Mountain had another reason for returning to Oblivion Peak: the spiritual energy in New Dawn City was too thin, which hindered his cultivation.
If he returned to Oblivion Peak, he was confident he could reach Martial Saint within ten years.
His son was in trouble, and as a father, not only could he not help, he had become a burden. He hated this feeling, so he was desperate to improve his cultivation—hoping to help his only son in the future.
Over the next three days, the guards and servants of the City Lord’s Mansion all left one after another.
By the evening of the third day, the entire City Lord’s Mansion was empty except for Ian’s family of three and Harriet.
Oblivion Peak is over two hundred thousand li from New Dawn City.
The journey was so far that if Yellow Mountain and his wife traveled alone, it would take at least dozens of days. So Ian planned to use his Great Teleportation Art to send them there.
In less than half an hour, the four of them arrived at the outskirts of Oblivion Peak.
The outskirts of Oblivion Peak were a vast stone forest. According to Ian’s observations, this forest contained hidden formations—if someone unfamiliar with formations entered and had bad luck, they could be trapped inside forever.
Baby, Mom can’t bear to part with you!
At parting, Lydia Liu tearfully hugged Ian.
Seeing Lydia Liu’s true feelings, Ian also felt sad and whispered, "Mom, it won’t be long before we’re reunited!"
Parting is always the hardest.
Lydia Liu held onto Ian for nearly half an hour, then gave Harriet some final instructions before she and Yellow Mountain reluctantly entered the stone forest, turning back with tearful eyes every few steps.
Watching this scene, Ian’s heart ached, and he fully accepted Lydia Liu as his "Mom."