Alas, who knew that when Tian'er heard about the betrothal, she fled from home to escape that marriage.
More so… when she had finally returned, both Xue AoTian and the lion prince Xin had discovered that she was no longer… untouched.
Flying into a rage, Xue AoTian almost killed his own daughter with his own hands. However, in the end, he only had this one daughter, and he could not land the final blow.
As for the Lion Prince, he could only swallow his pride and anger to accept it. For the sake of the Heavenly Snow Mountain Mountain Lord position, as well as for the fact that he truly liked Tian'er, he could only endure it, telling Xue AoTian that he was still willing to take Tian'er as his bride. Feeling guilty towards him, Xue AoTian ended up doting more on this disciple of his.
Half a year had already passed, and the engagement ceremony was already complete despite all of Tian'er's protests. Even when she threatened to take her own life, she was unable to change Xue AoTian's mind, and he brought his daughter alongside himself. The stubborn Mountain Lord truly believed that time could change everything, and such an outstanding talent like the Lion Prince Gu Yingbing would eventually move his daughter and enter her heart.
In order to sever Tian'er's remaining fantasies, Xue AoTian personally set their wedding date, which was three months from the current day.
"This is the Dragon Silencing Seal from the Demonic Dragon Lady." Xue AoTian said solemnly as he analyzed the image. "… Underestimating your enemy is always the worst flaw. Nine-Jewels against Four-Jewels, and he could still be tricked. Batulu, how did you teach your son?" Although he did not release his aura, Xue AoTian's words caused Batulu to start sweating profusely despite the icy cold temperature.
"Demonic Change State… Dragon Silencing Seal… And this… Darkness, Demonic and Lightning Attribute Fusion Skill… Hmm… a tri-Attribute Venom made from those energies." As he spoke to that point, Xue AoTian's eyes narrowed.
"YingBing, arrange for a place for Batulu to get some rest, he can come collect his son in three days time." The Dark Demon God Lightning might be too much for a Heavenly King Stage powerhouse like Shangguan Longyin to handle, but it was unable to stop the strongest man in the world, who held the Divine Attribute. Of course, Butler had already been suffering from the venom for such a long time, and even for Xue AoTian, it would not be an easy feat to totally remove the poison.
Batulu felt so lucky, as if he had struck the jackpot. He did not know what to say or do, and could only kneel there kowtowing in gratitude.
The light image finally disappeared, and Tian'er stood there as if her soul had been drained out of her. The next instant, a brilliant flash shone forth, and both Xue AoTian and Tian'er disappeared. Along with them, the unconscious Butler also disappeared.
When his Master had finally disappeared, the Lion Prince Gu Yingbing abruptly punched out viciously, his fist stabbing into the empty air, causing a loud explosion. His entire body seemed to be vibrating with sheer rage, his head of golden red hair whipping about in the wind.
"Bastard, it must be that bastard!" Gu Yingbing felt as if his rage was about to erupt out of his body. Abruptly, he took a step forward, grabbing the Wolf King Batulu and howling angrily: "Tell me, where did your son meet this youth? Tell me everything in detail, don't leave anything out, not even the most insignificant thing."
Batulu was given a fright by the sudden outburst of the Lion Prince Gu Yingbing, and he dared not delay, hurriedly telling everything he knew.
"ZhongTian Empire… Northern borders… the North West Armies… Good, very good." The words were spat out through gritted teeth, grinding so hard that the sound was audible. He felt as if the blood was about the burst out of his body with anger, and his eyes danced with rage and the light of mania, killing intent clear as day in the atmosphere.
Deep in the Heavenly Snow Castle… a room that was almost sealed airtight with sculpted ice… the Heavenly Snow Mountain Mountain Lord appeared with his daughter. As for Butler, he had disappeared to another area.
Currently, Tian'er's heart was still shaken. She had not seen Zhou Weiqing for more than half a year, and seeing him so suddenly without warning, how could her heart be at peace? The emotions and feelings she had buried deep within erupted like an active volcano, uncontrollable despite her best efforts. Alas, she could only lower her head in silence, not daring to look at her father.
"Is it him?" Xue AoTian said passively.
Tian'er did not reply, biting her lower lip softly. She did not dare make a sound, as fear and dread rose slowly from her heart, sinking deep into the pits of her stomach.
"Is it him?" Xue AoTian's voice grew sterner.
With a sudden thud, Tian'er knelt down in front of her father. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she said in a trembling voice: "Father, please, I beg you, let him go. I will marry Bro Gu, I won't look for him anymore, okay? Please, let him go." She was clear that if her father wanted to kill someone, no matter even if the person was the leader of a Great Saint Lands, he or she might not be able to escape… let alone Zhou Weiqing. To be able to find him, that was an easy task for Xue AoTian.
To her immense surprise, Xue AoTian actually sighed. "Get up, I won't kill him, and I won't blame you anymore." He held her and helped her up, a strange look of being deep in thought on his face.
A flick of his fingers, and the tears on his daughter's face disappeared. "Silly girl, why did you not tell me about him? If I knew that was so… father would not be so strict with you. Indeed, this cannot be blamed on you."
"Ahh?" By now, Tian'er was totally confused, not knowing what her father was speaking about. She could only stare in surprise at Xue AoTian, whose face had a hint of regret and apology.
Xue AoTian said: "No wonder you would be so attracted to him, that is not your fault, but it is a certainty due to the Attributes he has. Who would think… that someone like that would actually exist in this world… to have both the Demonic Attribute and Time Attribute at the same time! More so, his Demonic Attribute looks to be of the purest kind, a first generation who Awakened it. Both you and he have two Saint Attributes, added to the fact that his Demonic Change State is also of a tiger bloodline… naturally he would hold a great attraction to you. Being together with him… that should have a strong benefit to your cultivation right?"
Tian'er nodded subconsciously. Naturally, she remembered how they had met in the first place, and she had known about the Saint Attributes being a benefit to her cultivation. It had been that strange aura that had drawn her to him in the first place, and being together with him all that time had indeed sped up her cultivation greatly. She had even originally thought about staying with him all the way until she broke through the Heavenly King Stage to make full use of him.
Xue AoTian sighed once more. "What a shame… if I had met him ten years earlier… perhaps I would not have opposed you marrying him."
Tian'er stared at her father with her jaw agape. She had never imagined that her father would actually show such a sudden change after watching Zhou Weiqing's fight in the image.
"How old is he?" Xue AoTian thought for a moment before asking.
Tian'er said: "Seventeen years old… not even eighteen I think."
Another look of shock appeared on Xue AoTian's face, and he exclaimed: "Seventeen years old only…" His brow furrowed deeply, as if he had met with a problem he could not solve.
Light flashed in his eyes, but no one could tell what he was thinking about.
Tian'er did not hold any hope about the sudden change in her father's attitude. In all her memory, as long as her father had made a decision, it could never be changed.
"Father, you really won't kill him?" Tian'er asked tentatively once more.
Xue AoTian nodded and said: "This could be a chance, a turning point, for our Heavenly Snow Mountain… for you. If you had told me about him earlier, perhaps there might still have been a chance to deal with things between you and Yingbing, to turn things around. Alas, it is too late, you have already gone through the engagement ceremony. Things are troublesome then."
"Turn things around?" As soon as she heard that, Tian'er felt joy overwhelm her, and she asked excitedly.
Xue AoTian continued: "He has the Demonic and Time Attributes, and you have the Divine and Spirit Attributes. The four Saint Attributes, when gathered together and cultivating, both of you would have an extremely high chance of breaking through the Heavenly King Stage before the age of thirty. If that was so, you two might actually reach the Heavenly God Stage in the future, perhaps even breaking through together… and more importantly, have the chance to break through to a stage that I have never reached and beyond."
"If you had told me details about him earlier and brought him back, perhaps I could have taken him as disciple and maybe even allow you two to be together. Although our Heavenly Snow Mountain rules disallow passing on the position of Lord to females, but if you can truly raise to the cultivation level of Heavenly God Tier and beyond, who would dare speak otherwise, not even the other powerful Tribes of the WanShou Empire."
Tian'er was stunned, totally stunned. She had never in her wildest dreams imagine that her father would speak of such to her. Clearly, in her father's eyes, Zhou Weiqing's talent was truly important, perhaps even causing him to regret making the deal between the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger Tribe and Heavenly Divine Earth Spirit Lion Tribe.
"Father, let me go look for him now and bring him back, okay?" Tian'er said urgently.
Xue AoTian shook his head sternly and said: "No, it is too late for that. One cannot go back on their word. You have already been betrothed to Yingbing, and you will be married to him soon. Although that little boyfriend of yours is extremely talented, but he is still after all just one person. Unless he has sufficient powers behind him that can awe the lions, and after that, able to snatch you away from Yingbing in a fair fight… otherwise, even I cannot change such a decision that has already been made."
The hope that had just risen up in Tian'er's heart was once again cruelly dashed, her heart turning ice cold in despair. What force or influence did Zhou Weiqing have behind him? Even if he had some connection with the Heaven's Expanse Palace, it was not enough for them to support him in such a matter. Let alone the fact that the Heaven's Expanse Palace were mortal enemies with the Heavenly Snow Mountain, whether or not their aid would be of any help in such a matter… just the fact that his connection was through his relationship with Shangguan Bing'er, how could that possibly be of use? How could the Heaven's Expanse Palace possibly help him come seek her hand in marriage?
Xue AoTian sighed and said: "Alright, enough, don't think so much about this. Go back and prepare to be a bride… Yingbing truly likes you alot, no matter what you had done previously, he still does not reject you. Such a husband, what do you have to be dissatisfied with? Go then, Father needs to cultivate now."
When Tian'er left, she had resumed her previous zombie-like semblance, causing Xue AoTian to furrow his brow in worry. Despite his adamant stance, he did love his daughter very much. At the same time, in his heart, he started to feel curious about Zhou Weiqing, wanting to have a look at this youth who had stolen his daughter's heart so strongly, to attract her so much.
Should I arrange things in secret? What a troublesome mess.
At this point, it was extremely rare, nearly impossible to find something to cause trouble to the Heavenly Snow Mountain Mountain Lord. Yet, such a thing had just appeared right now. With his status, how could he possibly allow his daughter to secretly cultivate together with Zhou Weiqing. Yet, the two Saint Attributes that Zhou Weiqing had caused even Xue AoTian's heart to itch on his daughter's behalf. This was an unbelievable opportunity after all. The Thirteenth Heavenly Jewel. What would that be like? The legendary Heavenly Jewel Change Stage!