78: Two Demigods

The encounter by the Ba River made Zhang Fan extremely eager to become stronger.

So, early Monday morning, Zhang Fan immersed himself in cultivation.

The Divine Tree Juice contained a massive amount of Congenital One Qi, allowing Zhang Fan to skip the Food Qi process and directly proceed to Qi Refining.

He repeatedly performed the Basic 108 Forms, and the vast Congenital One Qi from the Divine Tree Juice gathered towards his Dantian.

As the continuous stream of Congenital One Qi entered his Dantian, like water flowing into a reservoir, his Qi Lake steadily expanded.

The Qi Lake is the foundation of the Golden Core; its expansion signifies an improvement in cultivation.

With the combination of Divine Tree Juice and the Basic 108 Forms, Zhang Fan's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, his progress astonishingly rapid.

And while Zhang Fan was engrossed in his arduous cultivation, his demigod grandfather, Zhang Xuanling, left Chang'an and arrived at the Capital.

Mangshan Mountain is a famous scenic area in the suburbs of Beijing, with a forest coverage rate of over 100%, making it a natural oxygen bar.

Fifty years ago, Mangshan Mountain was a famous tourist attraction in the Capital.

Today, fifty years later, Mangshan Mountain has long since become a Wilderness Area.

It wasn't until Hua Yunzhang, the God of War of the Hua Family, cleared out the monsters and occupied the area that Mangshan Mountain became his secluded retreat.

In the center of the Ming Tombs Reservoir, there was a small island.

On the island stood an exquisite and elegant villa.

At this moment, a person was sitting on the bank, fishing.

This person was about thirty-something years old, with a refined temperament and well-defined features, definitely a handsome man.

What was remarkable was that his left eye was golden, while his right eye was silver.

The colors of his two eyes were distinctly different, which should have looked very awkward.

But on him, it gave people the illusion of being perfectly natural.

In a pavilion not far away, a slender woman was practicing martial arts, her movements powerful and full of momentum.

One person fished.

One person practiced martial arts.

The island, the reservoir, Mangshan Mountain, the forest—all these elements formed a beautiful artistic painting.

“Rip—”

Just then, a deep, dark spatial rift suddenly appeared above the island, and a person emerged from it.

This sudden scene made the woman who was Qi Refining in the pavilion stop and look up at the person in the air in astonishment.

“Whoosh—”

The person's figure flickered, appearing on the ground almost instantly.

With golden hair and golden eyebrows, it was none other than Zhang Fan's demigod grandfather, Zhang Xuanling.

Zhang Xuanling glanced at the young woman in the pavilion, a flash of surprise in his eyes, and then walked towards the middle-aged man who was fishing.

“Fishing for pleasure, with a beauty by your side, you're certainly living a comfortable Little Japan!”

Zhang Xuanling chuckled, scolding, “Let me see how many fish you've caught, and what kind they are. Are there enough for fish soup?”

Zhang Xuanling walked closer and, without a word, lifted the fish basket.

However, the fish basket was empty; there wasn't a single fish.

“Hua Yunzhang, where are the fish? You've been fishing for so long, don't tell me you haven't caught anything?” Zhang Xuanling said disdainfully.

“Aren't they right here?”

Hua Yunzhang smiled as he stood up, teasing, “I'm also learning from Jiang Taigong's fishing, waiting for those who are willing to take the bait!”

Zhang Xuanling understood the implication in his words and couldn't help but laugh and scold:

“You old geezer, you're treating me like a fish. Do you believe I'll beat you up?”

“Oh, come on. We've fought for so many years, when have you ever managed to hit me? Save your energy!”

Hua Yunzhang led Zhang Xuanling to the pavilion and sat down, then said to the slender woman, “Hua Xia, serve tea!”

“Yes, Grandpa!”

The woman named Hua Xia nodded obediently, then bowed to Zhang Xuanling before backing out of the pavilion.

“Grandpa?”

Zhang Xuanling was startled, saying with a surprised expression, “Is this girl your granddaughter? I thought she was your young wife?”

Hua Yunzhang was furious: “Zhang Lao Gou, what the hell kind of eyes do you have?”

“Do you think everyone is like you, at such an old age, still going around corrupting newly adult young girls?”

“Haha, I was just judging others by myself, Hua Yunzhang, don't be angry!”

Zhang Xuanling said with a conciliatory smile.

Hua Yunzhang's expression improved considerably, and he snorted, “You never come without a reason. Why did you specifically come to my Mangshan Mountain today?”

Zhang Xuanling put away his smile: “Hua Yunzhang, I have a grandson who's just reached marriageable age!”

“I came today specifically to propose marriage for my grandson!”

“Propose marriage?”

Hua Yunzhang was bewildered: “You, Zhang Xuanling, are cold-hearted and ruthless, treating family affection like dirt, and you have so many descendants!”

“Why would you specifically come here to propose marriage for a grandson? This doesn't fit your character, Zhang Xuanling!”

“What's wrong with that?”

Zhang Xuanling said nonchalantly, “You are the Guardian God of War, holding high power and prestige, and your Hua Family is the Capital's foremost family!”

“I want to form a marriage alliance with you to deepen the relationship between our two families. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?”

“You can only fool others with those words!” Hua Yunzhang scoffed.

For ordinary people, there would indeed be nothing wrong; marriage alliances can deepen relationships and are the best way to form alliances!

But Zhang Xuanling is a demigod, and the Zhang Family is a family of demigods. For the Zhang Family, a marriage alliance would merely be icing on the cake!

Such trivial matters might be important to the younger generation of the Zhang Family, but they wouldn't be enough to catch Zhang Xuanling's eye.

Moreover, Zhang Xuanling is a person who is indifferent to family affection and only cares about himself. How could he care about such things?

So, it was very unusual!

Hua Yunzhang snorted, “Be honest, what is your true purpose?”

“Old Zhang, you know my capabilities, so don't even think about lying to me!”

“As long as I'm willing, I can see everything clearly through the future!”

“You can't hide anything from me!”

Zhang Xuanling heard this and shook his head in frustration: “Hua Yunzhang, I've always disliked playing with you because of this!”

“You're too shrewd; nothing can be hidden from you!”

“Hmph hmph! Since you know I'm shrewd, don't even think about fooling me!”

Hua Yunzhang said smugly, “Tell me! Why do you suddenly want to form a marriage alliance with me? What's your real purpose?”

Zhang Xuanling took a deep breath and said, “Hua Yunzhang, considering we're old friends, I'm giving you a chance to cling to a powerful figure. You'd better seize it!”

“Cling to a powerful figure?”

Hua Yunzhang was amused and teased, “Old Zhang, are you trying to make me laugh myself to death so you can inherit my Huabei?”

Huabei had gone bankrupt decades ago, but both of them were from before the Great Cataclysm, when Huabei was still very popular.

When old friends met, their tone of voice naturally reverted to their younger days.

Zhang Xuanling didn't take the other party's teasing to heart and said seriously:

“Hua Yunzhang, you are a Guardian Demigod, and you possess two powerful Titan Transformations: Emperor Jiang Divine Bird and Candle Nine Yin!”

“On this planet, you already stand at the pinnacle of the world; you truly don't need to cling to anyone's powerful figure!”

“But what about beyond Earth? Do you still not need to cling to a powerful figure?”

Zhang Xuanling looked up at the vast sky: “You and I both know that although we stand at the pinnacle of Earth!”

“But looking at the vast, boundless, and infinite universe, we are the weakest Starry Sky Life!”

Zhang Xuanling's voice was heavy: “People like us, who have ignited divine fire, can barely survive away from our home planet!”

“But once we enter the vast universe, we are nothing!”

“Those powerful and terrifying beings in the universe, any one of them could easily crush us!”