Immortal Paladin

[POV: Nongmin]

Ten years later, Nongmin finally left the newly established country of He.

The nation had been named after the dominant power that had remained standing after the war preceding the contest between the Supreme Heart and the Supreme Bearer. Although the fighting had ended and the dead had been returned to life, there was still much healing and rebuilding left to be done. Nongmin had been tempted to remain and see the country through its recovery, but he knew he had already overstayed his welcome. More importantly, the new continent, now merged with the Hollowed World, had become stable and self-sufficient enough that it no longer needed the logistical support provided by his puppet army.

“Don’t mind them, Your Majesty,” remarked Zhu Shin, standing beside him as they overlooked the cliffs.

The Iron Bull was referring to the contemptuous gazes directed toward Nongmin from below.

This country would probably remember him as a terrible tyrant who had twisted the arms of various nations and forced them to serve his ambitions. Even if the dead had been brought back to life and given a second chance to repair the damage they had caused, that did not erase the fact that Nongmin and his allies had brought terrible tragedy upon this world.

Even Zhu Shin, the Iron Bull, was not exempt from that sentiment.

Nongmin simply attracted more hostile looks because of the atrocities committed by his comrades during that so-called contest.

The Children of the Supreme Heart had possessed very little restraint.

“Where is Ding Cai?” Nongmin asked.

“From what I hear, she went to confront Lord Hei Mao and the Princess Regent regarding the disappearance of the Holy Emperor.”

Zhu Shin sounded uncomfortable, clearly eager to change the subject.

“The others have agreed to let He join the Federation in exchange for access to its trade routes and political connections. It is a collection of various smaller nations, after all. Their cultures have become intertwined, and they possess considerable influence over the economic pulse of the Hollowed World. This place could use every bit of assistance it can get, and we believed it was the best decision.”

Nongmin found that rather unexpected.

None of the champions representing the Supreme Bearer had come from the Federation.

“How about the recently resurrected Children of Heart?” Nongmin asked.

“They will be sent to Tartarus. Lady Ding Cai took care of that on her way to meet Lord Hei Mao.”

Nongmin nodded quietly.

Considering the betrayal he had committed, he should have been imprisoned or punished along with the Children of Heart. Yet, as it turned out, his actions had ultimately been judged to have served the will of the Holy Emperor. It had been Nongmin’s actions that helped prevent the imminent destruction of the Hollowed World through the release of the Supreme Void.

Few would ever hear the full story.

Still, the feat had been so extraordinary that the World Council had chosen to absolve him of his crimes. Nongmin was not sure whether that was mercy or simply another burden he would have to carry.

“Are those players?” he suddenly asked, befuddled.

He pointed toward the sky.

“They sure are quick.”

Several soaring boats had appeared in the distance, cutting through the clouds as they approached the newly rebuilt nation. Each vessel carried conspicuous name tags identifying its occupants as special existences known as players.

Nongmin watched them approach with a faint smile.

With the players here, the fate of this rebuilding country would likely turn for the better.

The players were, for the most part, good-natured and reliable. There were occasional troublemakers who seemed determined to turn every situation into chaos, but Nongmin had learned that even those troublesome individuals tended to solve more problems than they created.

Perhaps that was simply the nature of players.

“Then I suppose I’ll be going now,” Nongmin said. “Tell the others I send them my regards.”

Zhu Shin glanced at him before giving a small nod.

“Take care, Your Majesty.”

Nongmin smiled, turned away from the cliffs, and began his journey.

It took Nongmin several weeks and multiple warps aboard soaring boats before he finally reached the Workshop.

He had informed the local Guardians of his arrival beforehand through a letter correspondence, so the defensive formations recognized him and allowed him through without incident. By the time he reached the main hall, where most of the Workshop’s projects were displayed and actively being worked on, he found himself surprisingly alone.

It seemed everyone else was somewhere else, occupied with their own affairs.

“Excuse me?”

A woman emerged from one of the hallways.

She possessed a decent cultivation, having reached the Fifth Realm, Soul Recognition. She stopped when she noticed Nongmin and looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

“Who might you be? We weren’t informed of any visitors coming today. Is this some kind of inspection? Ah, I apologize. My name is Ren Min.”

“You have your mother’s eyes,” Nongmin remarked.

Ren Min blinked.

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“Huh?”

Nongmin stared at her.

The contest between the Supreme Bearer and the Supreme Heart had lasted for a long time, and that was not even counting the lengthy preparations that had preceded it. Nongmin was not unfamiliar with the idea of his children growing up without him.

He had never thought much about it in the past.

Back then, he had still been the emotionless slave of the Heavenly Eye, and familial bonds had meant little to him. It was only later in his life, with Da Wei’s help, that Nongmin had learned how to love his own blood.

Even then, this was different. Ren Min was not simply a child born from his blood. She had been conceived from the love between two souls whose hearts had been deeply intertwined.

“Father?”

Ren Min’s voice trembled.

Nongmin felt something stir within his soul.

Her cultivation was responding to his own soul, creating a faint resonance between them. Soul resonance was rarely observed between cultivators. It could occur through profound familial bonds, or perhaps through the strange connection shared by soulmates.

This was clearly the former.

Ren Min’s eyes began to fill with tears.

“What took you so long?”

Nongmin had no answer. So he simply opened his arms. Ren Min rushed into them. He held his daughter tightly, feeling the weight of many years that neither of them could ever get back.

Later, Nongmin found himself standing before his mother and his would-be wife.

Neither looked particularly pleased to see him.

“You didn’t even have the decency to hold a proper wedding,” Xin Yune scolded, her voice sharp enough to make Nongmin instinctively straighten his back. “You disappeared, left Zai Ai to carry your child, and then expected her to raise Ren Min without you for years! Do you have any idea what that woman went through?”

Nongmin remained silent.

“You think because you had some grand mission that everything else stopped mattering?” Xin Yune continued, mercilessly reprimanding Nongmin. “Ren Min grew up without a father for hundreds of years. You are lucky your daughter holds affection to you, longing if anything, when you should be just a stranger to her. Do you know how tough Ren Min’s childhood is? Zai Ai had to answer every question she asked about you. Every birthday, every festival, every time she saw another child with their father, she had to explain why hers wasn’t there!”

Zai Ai stood beside her, arms folded tightly across her chest. She looked even angrier than Xin Yune. But her anger was quieter.

“I can understand waiting,” Zai Ai finally said. “I can understand you having something important to do. What I cannot understand is why you couldn’t tell me anything.”

Nongmin lowered his gaze, while Zai Ai continued. “You could have written.”

“I know.”

“You could have sent someone.”

“I know.”

“You could have told me that you were alive.”

“I know.”

Zai Ai’s expression tightened.

“That is what makes me angry.”

Nongmin had faced armies, tyrants, monsters, and beings that stood above the laws of the world. None of them had ever made him feel quite as helpless as two women who loved him very much.

The scolding was very harsh, yet Nongmin endured it.

It was challenging, but strangely enough, it was also fun. Of course, he would never admit that to anyone. Eventually, the atmosphere softened enough for the others to approach.

Sikao Biaoji, the old man, looked at Nongmin for a long moment before letting out a relieved laugh. “Thank the heavens you finally came back. I was beginning to wonder if we’d have to wait another hundred years before seeing your face again.”

Beside him, Ke Zhen, the fatty, rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Now that you’re back, you have to continue teaching me! I’ve learned so much from everything you left behind, but there are still countless things I don’t understand!”

Nongmin smiled. “Thank you both for being patient and waiting for me.”

That night, they held a feast.

The off-duty Guardians were invited, and before long, the Workshop was filled with laughter, food, drink, and stories of the years Nongmin had missed. He enjoyed every moment of it. Perhaps more than he should have.

Deep down, however, Nongmin knew that this would not last. He would have to leave again soon. When the revelry reached its peak and the night had grown deep, Nongmin quietly prepared to sneak away. He had almost made it out when someone stepped into his path.

Xin Yune stood beneath the moonlight. “This is a bit too cruel, no?” she asked.

Nongmin stopped. “I already talked with Zai Ai.”

“I know.”

“As for Ren Min, she will understand. I believe she’ll be meeting Ren Xun’s family soon. I heard she applied for a position as an aide. She’s going to meet new people and make friends. I wouldn’t want to suffocate her with my presence.”

Xin Yune stared at him. “It’s a clumsy excuse.”

Nongmin smiled faintly. Of course he knew.

The truth was that Nongmin had once believed his time was over.

He had thought he could retire into self-exile, quietly contributing to the world through technological innovation from behind the scenes. He could have spent the rest of his life building things, improving lives, and perhaps occasionally watching over the people he cared about from afar.

But that was not what happened.

When the memories he had sealed away finally awakened, they had driven him to act desperately for the sake of this flawed world and the people he loved. He had fought because he could not bear to watch everything disappear. And now, despite everything, that same world still needed him.

“I have to go,” Nongmin said.

Xin Yune’s expression softened.

Something about her words and the way she looked at him made Nongmin wonder whether she had also lost part of her memories. Or perhaps that was not quite accurate. Her memories might not have been sealed. They might simply have been misled.

Whatever the truth was, Nongmin knew there was no point in pressing her now. He stepped forward.

Xin Yune caught his sleeve. “Be careful, son.”

He looked back at her. “I will.”

With that, Nongmin turned and disappeared into the night.

It took only a few days before Nongmin found himself standing upon a distant mountain. Waiting for him there was a dark-haired man dressed in flowing blue robes. It was Tao Long.

“Took you long enough,” Tao Long remarked.

Nongmin ignored the complaint and studied his old friend for a moment before asking, “How is your mastery of your dragon bloodline coming along? Are you confident you can do this? That ability unique to dragons was thought to have been lost.”

“Not bad,” Tao Long replied. “I learned it around the same time as your grandson. He leaves me in the dust in practically every subject involving dragon arts, but I managed to beat him in this particular area. You can trust me on this.”

Nongmin nodded.

“How’s New Willow?”

Tao Long’s expression immediately darkened.

“It’s bad. Lord Davian of Radiant Losten is currently acting as the Holy Emperor’s double to quell the masses. The mysterious loss of Jue Bu has had greater consequences than we expected.”

He hesitated before continuing.

“I also feel uncomfortable with the Princess Regent’s recent actions. She has the Empire firmly in her hands now, and the World Council can’t exactly tell her no.”

“Forget about Gu Jie,” Nongmin said calmly. “The Holy Emperor’s daughter can do as she pleases. She hasn’t betrayed Da Wei. The most important thing is that we aid Da Wei. Gu Jie might have underestimated the threat that the Supreme Void and the Tower represented.”

Tao Long sighed.

“I am awed by your foresight. Just how far could you really see, old friend?”

Nongmin shrugged, his expression becoming serious.

“Not really that far. I’m simply more experienced in the art, and I might have more stock knowledge than I bargained for. Regardless, we need to get to the False Earth. Can you bring us there?”

Tao Long’s eyes narrowed.

One of the ancient dragons’ most special and unique abilities was their capacity to traverse the different realms of existence. They could descend into the depths of the Underworld and Hell, ascend toward the heights of Heaven, cross the Asura Fields, and travel through every direction of the Mortal World.

The boundaries between realms meant little to them.

Tao Long took a step forward.

His body suddenly expanded.

Blue scales covered his skin as his limbs transformed, his robes disappearing beneath an enormous serpentine body. In the blink of an eye, the man Nongmin had been speaking with was gone, replaced by an enormous azure dragon whose body coiled across the mountain.

Tao Long lowered his massive head.

“Hop on, old friend.”

Nongmin smiled.

He leaped onto the tail Tao Long had deliberately lowered for him, allowing himself to be carried along the dragon’s enormous body until he reached the forehead. Once Nongmin had settled himself securely, Tao Long raised his head toward the endless sky.

Nongmin looked ahead.

Somewhere beyond the countless realms and boundaries of existence was the False Earth. And somewhere beyond that was Da Wei.

“Let’s go to Da Wei,” Nongmin said.

Tao Long’s enormous form stirred.

The next moment, the azure dragon tore through the heavens.