At this moment, inside the Wangyue Lake Pavilion.
"Little Fourth! Slacking off on your cultivation again? Aren't you afraid Third Uncle will punish you?" Wu Tianyuan said with a laugh.
"Hehe, with Mother here, he wouldn't dare give me a beating!" Wu Tianjun said shamelessly.
"Hmph, who are you calling a little brat?" Qin Qingqing spoke up at this moment.
"Oh, the little kid can talk too! Three years ago, you were still crying your eyes out to my mother, saying I bullied you!" Wu Tianjun retorted, turning to her. He didn't want this betrothal either, you know.
"Who says I'm a kid? I'm already five years old, and aren't you just the same age?" Qin Qingqing said angrily.
"I say you're a kid, so you're a kid! Hmph! I'm stronger than you, so you're the kid!" Wu Tianjun said unreasonably.
"Hmph! Wu Tianjun! I challenge you! I don't believe your talent is greater than mine. I am one of the three greatest geniuses recognized by the Qin family!" Qin Qingqing challenged, hands on her hips.
Hearing this, Wu Tianjun and the others were stunned. Five years old! Just at the Meridian Opening Realm, and not even at the peak of it—how could that be considered a genius? Was their Wu family not even human? In reality, they didn't know that by their generation, the speed of cultivation had become terrifyingly fast. Two or three-year-olds already understood a bit about cultivation. Normally, starting to comprehend cultivation at four years old was already a rare genius, fought over wherever they went! In this regard, the elders of the Wu family had almost completely concealed this knowledge, precisely because they feared the children would become arrogant and conceited, thinking they were number one under heaven. This was all for their own good!
"Are you sure you want to challenge me?" Wu Tianjun asked with difficulty. After all, he was an Earth Dan Realm expert! He didn't know exactly how strong he was, but he was certain he could shatter Wu Tianyuan's Five Elements Ring with a single strike! His cultivation was even higher than Wu Tianyuan's, and his talent was likely not inferior either!
"Hmph! Absolutely! Are you scared?" Qin Qingqing said smugly.
"If you lose, you can't say I bullied you, alright?" Wu Tianjun said uncertainly.
"Hmph! It's not decided who will lose yet! Ice Frost Art!" Qin Qingqing shouted.
"Oh! It's actually the Ice Spirit Body..." Wu Tianyuan and the others were slightly surprised, but it was only a slight surprise. Wu Tianri's Heavenly Soul Body was probably quite a bit stronger than this.
Frost enveloped Qin Qingqing's surroundings. Suddenly, an ice sword pierced through the mist and struck toward Wu Tianjun. Qin Qingqing was extremely confident in this move; even her older cousins who were at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm would find it very difficult to block this strike! She had to make this scoundrel suffer a little, so he wouldn't dare bully her in the future!
"Hey! You're playing for real! This young master isn't playing with you!" Wu Tianjun said in alarm. With a wave of his hand, a blast of energy threw both the ice sword and Qin Qingqing toward the lake.
"Ah! Ah!" Qin Qingqing cried out in surprise. Fortunately, her reputation as a genius was not for nothing. She quickly activated her Ice Frost Art, freezing the water beneath her feet, and used the momentum to leap toward the pavilion. She stared at Wu Tianjun in utter shock. "How are you so strong?"
In her estimation, the power Wu Tianjun had just displayed was already at the Gathering Essence Realm! How could a five-year-old be in the Gathering Essence Realm? Just moments ago, watching Wu Tianyuan and the other two spar had already shocked her deeply; they all possessed combat power approaching the Human Core Realm. That was only because they hadn't used their full strength, which she simply hadn't realized. She believed that once she reached their age, she wouldn't be inferior to them, and might even surpass them. But what was the deal with this guy, Wu Tianjun—who also happened to be her fiance? She possessed the Ice Spirit Physique! Could his physique and talent be even greater than hers? Hadn't they said he had done nothing but read books these past few years and wasn't cultivating? She had so many questions!
"Oh... perhaps you're just too weak! Since you've already opened your meridians, you should try to open a few more. It would be good for you," Wu Tianjun said, adopting the air of an elder lecturing a junior.
Whether from the immense shock or Wu Tianjun's patronizing lecture, her eyes welled with tears. "Hmph... you're bullying me!" With that, she turned and ran away from Moon-Gazing Lake. *Sigh*... She was still just a child, after all, unlike those little monsters.
"When did I ever bully her...?" Wu Tianjun's face lined with exasperation. Wu Tianyuan and the other two burst into laughter.
"Hmph! What's so funny? Next time, I'll suggest to Grandpa that he arrange marriages for you guys too. Let's see if you can still laugh then, hehe!" He looked at the three of them with an expression that said, "we share the blessings, but you bear the misfortunes alone." He was confident that he was the most favored child in the Wu family.
"Uh... Fourth Brother! Big Brother will give you ten drops of Lightning Tribulation Fluid!" Wu Tianyuan was the first to back down. He was a free spirit who had wanted to travel the world since childhood. However, the family elders refused to let him leave yet, claiming he lacked the strength to protect himself. As if anyone would believe that! He was already capable of slaying Heaven Core Realm demonic beasts.
"Hmph, at least you're sensible! Hehe, what about you two?" Wu Tianjun turned to ask the remaining two.
"Go ahead! As if I'd be afraid of a little girl," Wu Tianri said indifferently.
"Haha, I could use a little errand runner myself!" Wu Tianfeng said lightheartedly.
"Uh... just you wait! Hmph!" Wu Tianjun was left speechless.
"Let's get down to business," Wu Tianyuan said, his tone turning serious. Although they were young, they were exceptionally intelligent, and by now, they shared several secrets known only to themselves.
"Yes. Little Jun, are you sure Demon God Mountain is real?" Wu Tianri asked.
"I'm certain I didn't see wrong, but there seems to be something sealed underneath it. Even with my Heaven-Penetrating Eyes, I can't make out what it is, though I have a feeling it won't harm our Wu family," Wu Tianjun replied after a moment of thought.
"Indeed. I don't know what's been going on with the family lately. There hasn't been a single whisper of news, and they won't even let us use the teleportation array to leave Azure Cloud Star," Wu Tianyuan said.
"I don't know about that either, but it might be related to Tianfeng's situation..." Wu Tianri voiced his thoughts.
Although Wu Tianfeng was intelligent and sensible, she said almost nothing. There were things she understood and things she didn't; after all, she was only eight years old.
"I think what the clan has hidden is definitely not a good thing. Moon-Gazing Lake only allows those of our fifth generation to enter; it's probably also to prevent outsiders from knowing about our unique physiques. When we grow up, things will surely be different..." Wu Tianquan mused.
If any Wu family elders had been there to overhear their discussion, they would surely have been shocked speechless. The children had no information, yet from just a little bit of news about Wu Tianfang, they had deduced almost everything accurately. This truly defied common sense.
At this moment, in a spacious room—which was surprisingly the Wu family's council hall—members of the Qin family were also present, discussing something unknown. Everyone's expressions were grave, and the atmosphere was oppressive. Suddenly, a small figure rushed in, tears streaming down her face. It was Qin Qingqing, and her arrival immediately changed the atmosphere.
"Father! That guy bullied me again, sniff... boo hoo..." she cried, her face full of grievance, then threw herself into the arms of a man around thirty years old.
"Oh, who bullied my precious? What did he do to you? Tell me so I can go teach him a lesson." This man was Qin Yuanyue, the son of the current Qin family head. His cultivation had actually reached the middle stage of the Spirit-Connecting Realm. He was also a genius.
"It was Wu Tianquan. I fought him, and with a single flick of his hand, he threw me into Moon-Gazing Lake. Luckily, I was quick-witted enough to freeze a bit of the lake's surface and jump back up, otherwise I would have fallen in. He even said, 'If you've already opened a meridian, you should try to open a few more...' He was lecturing me, as if everyone else is as stupid as he is..." She stopped crying and recounted the whole story.
"Oh, my son-in-law defeated you? With a single flick of his hand? No way, he's only five years old!" Qin Yuanyue exclaimed in shock. Everyone from the Qin family was also startled. Only they knew how terrifying Qin Qingqing's talent was. "'Try to open a few more meridians...'" Qin Yuanyue muttered, as if deep in thought.
"Brother Shishen, do you know what realm my son-in-law is in?" Qin Yuanyue turned towards the Wu family and asked a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six.
"Ah, I'm truly sorry, Brother Yuanyue, I don't know either," Wu Shishen said apologetically. "That little rascal is mysterious all day long; even the clan elders don't know his cultivation level."
"So that's how it is..." Qin Yuanyue sighed. He was still pondering what "open a few more meridians..." could possibly mean.
"BOOM... CRASH..." Just then, the sky above Qingyun Star cracked open. A gigantic, earthy-yellow hand reached out from the void, probing the vicinity of Demon God Mountain. Immediately after, a colossal green hand stretched out from Demon God Mountain, blocking the earthy-yellow hand. The two hands clashed for a moment then stopped. The earthy-yellow hand retreated into the void, and the green hand also withdrew back into Demon God Mountain.
"How can this be? Wu Shenpo, you junior, you actually broke through to become a mighty God Lord..." An alarmed voice echoed from the void.
"Hmph! Chen Wanxuan, so you have indeed achieved the realm of a God Lord. How dare you cause trouble on my Qingyun Star? You can come, but you will never leave!" A voice boomed from Demon God Mountain, and a figure shot up into the void.
"Do you think my Wu family is afraid of your allied forces?" Another voice rang out, and another figure soared from Demon God Mountain into the void.
Only then did everyone on Qingyun Star finally react.
"What's happening? How could someone attack Qingyun Star? To dare offend the Wu family, they must be tired of living!" someone exclaimed in bewilderment.
"It seems a powerhouse has made a move—a God Lord, a seventh-level God-tier expert. It seems a great war is unavoidable..." some well-informed people sighed. They were affiliated with the Wu family and feared it would be difficult to escape this calamity.
"..." The crowd fell into a flurry of discussion.