“Senior.”
“Big Sister.”
They greeted Lady Providence almost in unison. She was still dressed in an unadorned skirt. Her former exhaustion had vanished, replaced with a calm smile.
“How are they doing in there?”
“They’re in no real danger, and should wake up within a few days,” said Lady Providence.
“I will remember senior’s great kindness for the rest of my life,” said Su Liu’er, and for the first time in her life, knelt onto the ground.
She’d never knelt to anyone before, but now that Lady Providence had saved Su Yan’s life, she did so without hesitation.
“What are you doing?” said Lady Providence, lifting her from the ground.
“I have yet to introduce myself. My title is ‘Providence.’ The people of the God Realm call me ‘Lady Providence.’ You may do the same,” she said, then faced Su Liu’er and laughed lightly. “Hearing you call me ‘senior’ over and over again is actually somewhat uncomfortable. In truth, you’ve been cultivating for longer than I have, so calling me ‘senior’ is really bizarre.’
Su Liu’er was struck dumb, but more than that, she felt deeply ashamed of herself.
She’d been cultivating longer than Lady Providence?
But Lady Providence had long since ascended to the God Realm, and judging from her words, was absolutely a major figure there.
But she...
“No need to overthink things,” said Lady Providence. “My situation is somewhat exceptional; I’m a rarity among rarities even within the God Realm. In truth, you don’t lack talent, it’s just that mortal karmic ties are holding you back and preventing you from ascending. Also, If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been forcefully suppressing your cultivation for fear of what will happen to your clan after your ascension.
“You’re quite perceptive.”
Su Liu’er didn’t deny it. “The Nine-tailed Fox clan is different from the other major clans. Our current prosperity is completely dependant on me. Even though there are others within the clan who possess sufficient strength, their temperaments are unsuited for a leadership role. Conversely, my younger sister has the right temperament, but her strength is insufficient. All I can do for now is stay here and wait for her to grow up a little; it’s too early to think of anything else.”
“The way I see it,” said Lady Providence, “Even if there were someone who could take over for you, you absolutely wouldn’t go to the God Realm.”
‘Hearing that, the others were struck dumb.
While you couldn’t say that every single immortal in the Three Realms longed to ascend to the God Realm, at least ninety-nine percent of them did.
Take Ye Zichen, he’d bitterly racked his brains about how to ascend on numerous occasions.
But now Lady Providence said that even if Su Liu’er could ascend, she’d choose not to?
“It’s true.”
To their surprise, Su Liu’er nodded grimly and didn’t deny it. “I have a deep, irreconcilable enmity with the God Realm. Even if I were to ascend, I would be to stir up trouble.”
“It seems your grudge against God Realm is truly deep,” said Lady Providence with a calm smile. “But let me tell you something. In truth, the root of your hatred is the heavenly lightning, and the heavenly lightning wasn’t sent by the God Realm, but rather by a certain family within the God Realm. If you want to cause trouble, you should target them directly. Who knows, I might even be able to help you out.”
“Which family?”
“The God Realm’s Xiao family,” said Lady Providence, eyes flashing. “The Xiao Family has controlled tribulation lightning throughout the SIx Realms since the birth of the God Realm. They’re arguably the most prosperous family within the entire realm, and their numbers include countless elites. The God Emperor himself has to give them face.”
“The Xiao Family!”
Su Liu’er’s face darkened suddenly, and memories of tribulation lightning flashed through her mind.
“For now, there’s no need to worry too much about all this. Given your current strength, you’re like an ant attempting to shake a tree. Any of their main descendants could crush you into bits. At the end of the day, the problem is that you’re still too weak,” said Lady Providence before turning to Xiao Yumei and Chang’e.
“This is also why I had you two follow me here.
…..
Yu Xiaomei and Chang’e looked at each other, eyes brimming over with confusion.
Xia Keke fidgeted and bat her eyes, but had yet to speak.
“Xiao Family, Xiao Yumei…. Wah, could it be that Big Sister Yumei is related to the God Realm’s Xiao Family?" she exclaimed suddenly. "But what about Big Sister Chang’e… isn’t her surname ‘Chang’?”
“Actually, Chang’e isn’t my original name. I was once called Heng’e. Back in Western Han Dynasty, it was taboo to share any of the characters in your name with the emperor, Liu Heng, so I changed my name to Chang’e,” said Chang’e tenderly. “But nevermind about all that. I have no relationship whatsoever with the Xiao Family.”
“There’s no need to make random guesses. I never said you were related to the Xiao Family,” said Lady Providence, reaching out to tousle Xia Keke’s hair. “You little troublemaker, always just saying the first thing that pops into your head. Now look, you’ve made me forget what I was about to say.”
“Then take as much time as you need to remember it,” said Xia Keke with a silly grin. Seeing her smile, Lady Providence couldn’t help but smile dotingly back.
This sort of doting was normally reserved for siblings or parents and children, and furthermore, needed to be cultivated over a long period of time. If it weren’t for the fact that she often looked at Su Zhu in the same way, Su Liu’er might’ve missed it.
But Lady Providence had just met Xia Keke, hadn’t she? She shouldn’t be looking at her with such affection.
Just as Xia Keke was enjoying having her hair rumpled, Lady Providence snapped her fingers and tore a hole in space.
The onlookers all stepped backward instinctively. Holes in space could suck you in and tear you apart. If they fell in, not even a thousand lives would be enough.
However...
This spacial tear wasn’t destructive at all. After realizing this, they looked inside and saw a vast treasure horde, piled as far as the eye could see.
Gasp……
Su Liu’er and Chang’e couldn’t stop themselves; they gasped in astonishment.
Compared to this vast mountain of treasure, the riches of the Nine-tailed Fox Clan and the Heavenly Court.... Feh, there was no way to compare them at all.
“Wah, how beautiful!”
Xia Keke smiled and waved her hands excitedly, eyes shining. Members of the Dragon Race loved nothing more than collecting all kinds of treasure, especially gold and precious stones. This spacial tear contained a terrifying abundance of valuables, particularly gemstones.
“I’ve taken quite a liking to you, little girl, so I’ll give you a present,” said Lady Providence, lips curling into a smile. “These are all the treasures I’ve collected over the eyes, including many divine artifacts from the God Realm. Take one. What you choose will depend on your luck.”
To tell the truth, even Su Liu’er was somewhat envious. Given her breadth of experience, she had already spotted several treasures so powerful, she could use them to dominate the entire Three Realms. She'd be lying if she said she wasn’t tempted, but Lady Providence was only giving a treasure to Xia Keke, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She hoped that Xia Keke would choose a good treasure, but as she turned to look at her…
Xia Keke grasped a precious stone, eyes glinting with desire!
“There’s no way that Keke will choose a real treasure! Given that it's her we’re talking about, she’s definitely just going to choose some shiny gemstone. Are all dragons like this?"