Chapter 979
"Lord, Lady, I’ve done as you have instructed and wiped out as many specters as we possibly could," Tianming said."I see." Huiyue Du pointed at him and turned to Huiye Shi. "Come and explain what's going on."
"Well... When I first went to the Flameyellow Continent, he was the one who tended to us. He's the human emperor, and his authority is accepted by all the humans on the continent. After the Moon Guide went back, he took me around to travel and have fun. I gradually came to understand and like him. I know you might feel like his status is rather low, but he's a true legend over there and is really talented!" Huiye Shi didn't hide anything at all. In terms of age and cultivation, he wouldn't be able to lie to those two. He was twenty-three and at the tenth level of the Samsara stage.
Fortunately, they weren't aware of his actual combat capability. It was too ridiculous for someone like him to be able to fight against ascendants. Not to mention, for him to be able to gain control of an entire continent at his age made it so that her parents had no choice but to regard him seriously, as opposed to their aloof attitude from before. If they knew that he could fight ascendants, there was a risk that they would suspect him of killing Huiyue Yin. So his lower cultivation was the perfect cover.
"Get up there. We'll verify your actual age," Huiyue Du said as he tossed a spherical heavenly pattern formation on the ground.
"Go and let my dad see how amazing you are!" Huiye Shi said mischievously.
"Alright." Tianming entered the age-evaluation formation. It seemed to fuse with his body and react in a mystical manner. To think that something so complicated was used just to evaluate the age of a person.
The moment he entered, different lights began forming on the formation. At the very end, only eighteen stars manifested. As he was in the life phase, his body was filled with youthful vigor. The eighteen stars showed him to be biologically eighteen.
"Eighteen! Amazing, Li Tianming...." Huiye Shi was almost mad that he appeared to be much younger than her, but quickly changed her tune. "He's ten years younger than me! You're far too young!"
"It might have something to do with me being in the life phase now. I’m already twenty-three," Tianming honestly said.
Seeing that, Huiye Shi's parents exchanged a surprised look.
"He's only twenty-three, but he's already at the tenth-level life phase and was even able to unify an entire continent that's even larger than the Divine Moon Realm?"
"Not to mention, he did all this without a stellunar source?"
By now, they couldn't take their eyes off him. Tianming had thought that they would be arrogant and continue looking down on him, yet it appeared that things were going smoothly. They also didn't even bother asking how he came to the moon. They probably figured that since their daughter had her sights on him, she had enlisted the help of someone else on her own accord to bring him here.
While they were still shocked, Huiye Shi said, "Daddy Mommy, please give me this chance! I really think he's destined for greatness! He might not have any standing now, but once he becomes mine, I'll continue nurturing him! Eventually, he'll make it on his own!"
She hustled to Yusheng Luo and said, "Mom, even if he isn't enough, I'll just take a few more men with higher status for myself. That won't be an issue, right?"
"It won't be an issue indeed. You lass... you really know how to pick the good ones," Yusheng Luo said as she pinched her daughter's nose.
"Of course! I'm your daughter, after all! I inherited your good eye for men!" Her blatant flattery did annoy her father slightly, though.
"So he's a member of the rootbeast race?" Though annoyed, Huiyue Du still tried to objectively evaluate Tianming.
"Dad, he's not a member of the rootbeast race! His lifebound beasts are actually formed with blood pacts. He has Lifesbane like us and has four bane-rings, but they manifested within his body. I was planning to help him awaken his totems, too. Even though blood pacts aren't that good, the fact that he managed to reach the tenth-level life phase means he's an exception! I think he'll be able to use both lifebound beasts and totems, just like the Ninemoon Goddess!"
"Since he only has four bane-rings, you shouldn't compare him with the Ninemoon Goddess. Not to mention, her lifebound beast was born with her. It isn’t a blood pact," Huiyue Du said.
Tianming didn't know whether there were other people with Lifesbane outside the Decimo Dao Nation, but it was obvious that Huiyue Du wasn't too clear on it either. It didn't even occur to him that Tianming could've come from a chaos skyjail. And as Huiye Shi had predicted, they didn't really make too much of a fuss after hearing that he only had four bane-rings.
Now that he had shown off his talent, it all depended on Huiyue Du. He was the one who would decide whether or not to give his first son-in-law a pass. Huiyue Du waved for Tianming to leave for now, and he did as he was instructed.
Once he left, Huiyue Du said, "Shishi, this person is indeed talented, but his foundation is pretty average, especially the fact that he has both lifebound beasts and totems. He’s not the same as Li Qingyu, and his future progress might be hampered. There are many people who grow quickly in the beginning, only to find that they have a really low ceiling for potential. Don't overestimate him."
"There's still a chance he could be a gem, right? Even if he isn't like the Ninemoon Goddess, it doesn't matter as long as he can benefit our clan. He's only a concubine anyway, so I can just discard him if he turns out to be useless," Huiye Shi argued.
"You can't say that. Once you take him in, you’ll have a duty as his mistress. You can't just abandon a concubine. And even if you don't mind, others might and you'll have a hard time finding a good man to marry among the divine moonrace."
"It doesn't matter. There’s many people that marry other races. I want a few more for myself too. If I marry a divine moonrace, I can only pick one and that's rather boring. Not to mention, I'd have to leave your side."
"Even if you take more than a hundred men of other races, it wouldn't compare to a single divine moonrace man," Huiyue Du said.
"Dad, that won't necessarily be the case...."
"I'll be direct with you. Your uncle, Huiyue Hai, has talked to me about his son. He wants to tie the knot between the two of you."
"Huiyue Yu? I don't like him."
"Why? Because of his achievements? He's about the same age as you, and he's an ascendant. He's even more talented than you. Not to mention, he's hardworking and polite. There's nothing to complain about."
"It's precisely because he's that accomplished that he'll be the dominant one in the relationship! I don't like that. I want my men to be talented and obedient at the same time! Right, Mom?" Huiye Shi said. Yusheng Luo couldn't help but chuckle.
"Enough messing around! Between Huiyue Yu and this person, even an idiot would know who better to pick. Stop being so stubborn."
"No! I like him and I want him!" Seeing that it was going to be hard, Huiye Shi threw a calculated tantrum. She tugged on her mother's hand and broke into tears, much to Huiyue Du's dismay.
"Come on," Yusheng Luo said as she tugged on her husband's arm. "Let her do as she pleases. You know she wouldn’t fall for just anyone. As for Huiyue Yu, they grew up together. If Shishi liked him, we would've known by now. If she marries him and has to suffer because of it, none of us will be happy! Not to mention, it's akin to losing our daughter to another family. Rather than that, getting a good son-in-law that serves our family would be much better, right? We've already lost our son...."
"Are you sure?" Huiyue Du began wavering at his wife's words.
"I think this is fine. Not to mention, Huiyue Hai would profit by having our daughter as his daughter-in-law. It's a bit of a reach, really."
In the end, the thing that finally moved Huiyue Du was the fact that he had lost his son, Huiyue Yin. Marrying their daughter off was the same as giving their only child to another family. Seeing how Huiye Shi was crying herself into a mess, he stood up and waved. "Alright, stop crying! Do as you please!"