195: Chapter 195 The Aftermath Has Not Yet Subsided, A Love Sent Through Three Lifetimes

After Zi Tianqiong took Zi Linger away, the entire Lin Family Ancestral Land fell into an eerie silence. The auras of the powerful experts who had besieged them for three days had completely vanished, but a heart-palpitating pressure still lingered in the air. The Three Hundred Battle Guards did not dare to relax and remained at their posts, while the Great Clan-Protecting Formation continued to operate at full power.

Lin Fan stood on the Star Gazing Platform, motionless for a long time.

Xia Qingyue stayed by his side, also remaining silent.

After a long while, Lin Fan finally spoke: "You should go back."

Xia Qingyue was startled.

Lin Fan turned to look at her: "You are the Divine Maiden of Great Xia. Having been missing for so long, your Imperial Father will worry."

Xia Qingyue fell silent.

She knew Lin Fan was right. She really should go back. But...

"Lin Fan," she suddenly said, "will you come with me?"

Lin Fan looked at her.

Xia Qingyue's gaze was clear and firm: "Although Great Xia is not as powerful as the Ten Thousand Demon Celestial Domain, it still has the strength to fight. If you come back with me, I will have my Imperial Father give you an identity. You can Cultivate in Great Xia, and the Black Demon Abyss and Shadow Kill Tower won't dare move against you."

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"I cannot leave."

A hint of gloom flashed in Xia Qingyue's eyes: "Because of the Lin Family?"

"Because of Xu," Lin Fan said, "He is still waiting for me."

Xia Qingyue gripped his hand tightly: "Then I will wait with you."

Lin Fan looked at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, but it was sincere.

"Xia Qingyue." For the first time, he called her by her full name so formally, "Do you know what it means to follow me?"

Xia Qingyue nodded.

"It means you could die at any time," Lin Fan continued. "It means facing existences beyond the Six Realms, it means giving up your status as a Divine Maiden, it means..."

"Enough," Xia Qingyue interrupted him.

She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Lin Fan was stunned.

Xia Qingyue took a step back and looked at him, her cheeks slightly flushed, but her gaze was firm: "Lin Fan, I like you."

"From the first time you acted on the Lin Family Altar, from when you saved me in the Meteor Star Ancient Domain, from when you fought alone against a crowd of enemies outside the Burial King Valley, from when your Sword from the West arrived in Luoxia Valley..."

"I've liked you since then."

"So, no matter what lies ahead, I will accompany you."

Lin Fan looked at her, an indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.

He had lived for so long, killed countless people, saved countless people, and been revered or feared by countless people. But no one had ever told him 'I like you' so bluntly.

He raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek.

"Alright," he said, "Then we'll be together."

In the distance, Lin Pojun stood below the Star Gazing Platform, watching this scene with the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

He turned and waved to the War Guards behind him: "Disperse, disperse! There's nothing to see here."

The War Guards dispersed with grins, but the joy in their eyes could not be hidden.

The Young Lord has a companion.

This is a good thing.

The next morning, Xia Qingyue still left.

It wasn't that she wanted to leave, but Lin Fan made her leave.

"Great Xia needs you," Lin Fan said, "And I need you to stay alive."

Xia Qingyue understood his meaning.

Her staying here would only distract him. What she needed to do was return to Great Xia, consolidate her forces, and become his strongest support.

"I'll wait for you," she said.

Lin Fan nodded.

Xia Qingyue turned into a stream of light and disappeared into the distance.

Lin Fan stood on the Star Gazing Platform, gazing in the direction she had left, motionless for a long time.

Behind him, Clan Leader's voice sounded: "Can't bear to let her go?"

Lin Fan turned his head and saw his father looking at him with a smile.

Lin Fan did not deny it.

Clan Leader walked to his side and patted his shoulder: "She's a good girl. If the Emperor of Great Xia doesn't agree, your father will go and propose the marriage for you."

Lin Fan Laughing: "Father, you're overthinking it."

Clan Leader laughed heartily, then said seriously: "Faner, what do you plan to do next?"

Lin Fan looked into the distance, in the direction of the Tongtian Ancient Road.

"Cultivate," he said, "Get stronger."

"And then?"

"Then go back and take ten strikes from Xu."

Clan Leader fell silent.

He knew what his son was talking about. Lin Fan had already told him about Xu's existence—that terrifying existence from beyond the Six Realms, the monster whose single strike had almost cost Lin Fan his life.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

Lin Fan shook his head: "No."

"Then you're still going?"

"I must go," Lin Fan said. "If I don't go, he will come. When that time comes, the entire Six Realms will suffer."

Clan Leader looked at him, his eyes filled with a complex mix of pride and heartache.

His son had grown up.

But the price of growing up was to shoulder a burden that others could not.

"Go," he said, "The Lin Family has your father here."

Lin Fan nodded and turned to walk toward the depths of the ancestral land.

There was the secret chamber where he went into seclusion.

It was also the starting point for him to become stronger.

The door of the secret chamber slowly closed.

In the darkness, Lin Fan sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. Within his Sea of Consciousness, nine gray crystals slowly rotated. Those were the Origin Annihilation Crystals he had condensed over three months. Each one was enough to heavily injure a Great Perfection Realm Lord. But what Xu wanted was ten strikes.

Nine was not enough.

He needed more.

He began to circulate the Eternal Annihilation Art, doing his utmost to compress the power within his body.

In the secret chamber, the gray airflow surged again, forming a massive vortex.

Time passed, second by second.