Transcending the Nine Heavens

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Heaven's Way.

The Nine Tribulations Sword.

Heaven's Way.

For a long while, Chu Yang was lost in his thoughts. He couldn't help but feel like there was an unseen force guiding his every action and that every step he took seemed to be following a path that had already been laid out for him.

His rebirth, the Nine Tribulations, meeting Butian in Iron Cloud, meeting Duxing in the Heavenly Armament Pavilion; gaining the Vitality Spring, becoming sworn brothers, the battle of wits and power with Qingrou, the sudden appearance of the Black Devils… Up to this point, his thoughts and goals could basically be said to have already been guided to the Middle Three Heavens.

Thereafter, Diwu decided to give up following the great change in heavenly secrets while he went up to the Middle Three Heavens. Yet the first person he had met after arriving was his father, which laid out the path for his journey to the Upper Three Heavens.

Just like that, journey after journey…

To the point of Bu Liuqing and Ning Tianya's appearances and the Nine Super Clans passing judgment on him… The Upper Three Heavens had also become a natural turn of events too. And after he went up to the Upper Three Heavens and came out of the south-east, he met Zi Xieqing immediately.

And through her, he got to know about the Nine Heavens Imperial Court. Her departure also seemed to point him in a new direction.

At that point, he then got to know that he had a son in the Lower Three Heavens and that the mother of his son was actually Senior and Junior Sister Disciples with his mother… This was originally already a very strange turn of events but now that he was finally here after much trouble, his son turned out to actually be some kind of Immortal Soul… And now some kind of Heaven's Way Dimension had even been dragged into the picture!

What was obvious was that the Heaven's Way Dimension was an even higher existence than the Nine Heavens Imperial Court.

And this matter being revealed by his own son gave Chu Yang even more of a ridiculous feeling of 'having come full circle'. If his guess was correct and the Nine Tribulations Sword were traces of Heaven's Way… then it should also come to an end when he reached the Heaven's Way Dimension.

There would not be any existence higher than that in this world.

It seemed like there was a string of fate that was pulling him without rest all the way to the pinnacle.

But Chu Yang didn't feel comfortable with it nonetheless.

He still felt very bemused facing this tiny fellow with a huge mind of his own. It felt familiar yet strange, warm yet somewhat distant.

He couldn't help but heave a deep sigh.

"I'm somewhat unable to accept you telling me this," said Chu Yang as he lowered his son to the ground, letting him sit cross-legged on the grass, while he sat opposite him. He continued, "I had planned on meeting an innocent and naive son when I came here, as well as to dispel the misunderstanding with Butian and reveal the truth, and let my son return to his origins and acknowledge his ancestral roots…"

"I came here full of excitement and happiness, only to see a son displaying monstrous abilities. If you didn't tell me, at best, I'd have thought that my son was a genius… and would even have been very happy. But now that you've told me everything… this has made me somewhat at a loss of what to do."

"The father and son kinship that I had dreamed of…" Chu Yang was a little forlorn. "Do you understand?"

"I have no choice either… because I can't wait anymore," said the little fellow innocently as he held his hands out.

"Can't wait anymore?" repeated a perplexed Chu Yang.

"Two reasons." The little fellow stretched out his legs, an amusing look of seriousness on his young and child-like face. "I've never had a family nor a mother before but I do now. My mother treats me wholeheartedly with love and adoration. I am infatuated with this feeling. I was born after staying ten months in my mother's womb; no matter what, that is my biological mother."

"I don't wish for my mother to be hurt. I hope you can give her happiness; but right now, it looks like you're nothing more than a passer-by in her life. My mother definitely will not leave with you… even though you're going to leave soon. The moment you leave, my mother will be unhappy. Therefore, I would like you to gain my mother's approval in the shortest time possible," said the little fellow. "And give her something to live for so that she can continue to be happy and blissful."

"That is my wish," said the little fellow, full of familial kinship. "And this is something only you can do."

"The second reason why I can't wait anymore is… Ever since I was born and not long after that Lan Meixian left… People from the Lan Clan have come, and there are a lot of them… They are inside the palace as well as outside." The little fellow continued, "They managed to hide from my mother but they cannot hide from my divine sense."

"Right now, they are investigating everybody; the moment they are able to confirm it, they will take action. At present, you are no doubt their biggest target. They have definitely already started to suspect you."

The little fellow went on, "In the Lower Three Heavens, it is no doubt going to be difficult for you to do anything. Should my mother and I fall under someone else's control, it will be even tougher for you. Furthermore, they've already been in preparation for more than a year… As someone unsuspecting being targeted by people with motives, you have no chance of winning. Therefore, even though I know that talking to you like this now is extremely shocking, I could only tell you in advance nevertheless…"

"If you die, especially if you die here in the Lower Three Heavens, my mother would truly break down…" The little fellow muttered, "I don't want my mother to break down…"

Chu Yang was incredibly exasperated.

Just as there was a hint of 'the boy is worth teaching' and a kind of 'this is my son after all; he knows to think for his dad even though he is so young, what a filial child' blissful feeling, he was completely devastated by the fellow's words.

So this little scoundrel just doesn't want his mother to be sad…

However… the Lan Clan! An icy glint appeared in Chu Yang's eyes.

The Lan Clan is really tired of living.

Actually even setting their sights here.

Chu Yang was an extremely clever man. The moment he heard what the little fellow said, he understood everything at once.

Lan Meixian was Tie Butian's Teacher. When she saw the Nine Tribulations Pill at Tie Butian's… Moreover, Lan Meixian was a member of Lan Clan. The Lan Clan was one of the first few among the Nine Super Clans who would bear the brunt when facing the Nine Tribulations Sword Master.

How could they not make preparations?

Therefore, she had already started to set everything up in advance. Tie Butian refusing to reveal who she had gotten the pill from was naturally to be expected; while the Lan Clan keeping everything under wraps and not harming Tie Butian and her son before everything became clear was also something that Chu Yang could understand.

The Lan Clan probably had the same idea as the Li Clan — To become one of the Nine Tribulations and extend another ten thousand years of prosperity.

Everything, no matter what, would have to give way to such a precondition! Not to mention that with Tie Butian and Lan Meixian's Teacher-disciple relationship, the Lan Clan was equivalent to already having an advantageous first step.

If they got to know the identity of the Nine Tribulations Sword Master, then with the Lan Clan's methods, they had a million ways to establish a relationship with him and then naturally become one of the Nine Tribulations — This was exactly the great plans of the Lan Clan.

And when that happened, Tie Butian and Lan Meixian's Teacher-disciple relationship would become even more of an indestructible emotional tie!

Under the situation where both Tie Butian and Chu Yang were unaware… This plan was practically fool-proof! No matter from which aspect, there was no chance of failure!

However, not even in their dreams would the Lan Clan expect their fool-proof and seamless plans to be foiled by a tiny child who had only just turned one!

"I understand," said Chu Yang heavily.

"Then my heart can be at ease now," replied the little fellow happily.

"So there's nothing else now, right?" Chu Yang raised his eyebrows.

"No… What do you want?" asked the little fellow warily.

"Just making a few changes to our agreement earlier." Chu Yang said calmly, "First of all, names are given by parents. Children are not allowed to name themselves. Therefore, the name that you've given yourself is void. At the moment, your name is still Tie Yang. In the future, after you've acknowledged your ancestral roots, I will give you another name!"

"You… you're playing dirty!" The little fellow was flabbergasted. He didn't expect this old dad of his to burn the bridge immediately after crossing it.

"As for your pet name, you will be called Dan Dan1 from now on," said Chu Yang. "This name is not bad!"

"No!" The little fellow wanted to cry.

"You have no choice!" Chu Yang pursed his lips.

"I'll tell my mother. I'll destroy all of your plans… I'm not lying!" The little fellow threatened him fiercely.

"I'm not afraid. If you're willing to let your mother be sad and miserable for the rest of her life, I don't mind if you betray your dad." An unperturbed Chu Yang continued, "It's great that you're so sensible and know how to care for your mother when you're only so young. Not bad, not bad. You had better not be disobedient in the future; if you don't listen to me, I have so many ways to make your mother so miserable that she would want to die!"

"You…" The little fellow was dumbfounded. Although he was pretty learned, this was his very first time reincarnating as a human after all. He was merely experienced in theory; in reality, he was beyond wet behind the ears.

The moment he was up against an experienced and wily old fox like Chu Yang, he lost the battle right away.

"You're going back on your word!" The little fellow's face was twisted.

"And this is the first lesson your father is teaching you; as long as you are strong enough, you can go back on your word. Just like how I can beat you up if you go back on your word but there's nothing you can do when I go back on mine!" Chu Yang chuckled sneakily and said, "My son, that's something for you to learn. You were bragging pretty wildly earlier but… bragging so wildly when you have no practical power to speak of only makes you a joke!"

"Understand?" asked a very proud and self-satisfied Chu Yang.

"Yes." The little fellow's soft and tender baby face was rather contorted.

Just you wait till I grow up!

"So why aren't you calling me Father yet?" Minister Chu raised his chin.

You're still too green to fight with me, child.

"Daddy…" He had to call him Father sooner or later anyway, what was the difference between doing it earlier or later? Although it was a little embarrassing being forced by someone to do it, this was his father after all. It didn't seem like there was much to be embarrassed about anyway.

"Yes, good Dan Dan." Chu Yang nodded approvingly.

"Dad, can I not be called Dan Dan?" The little fellow gave in completely.

"Well…" Chu Yang gave him a deep smile. Under his son's fawning and hopeful eyes, he said, "…No!"

The little fellow hung his head dejectedly.

"You know what to say when your mother is here later, right?" Chu Yang was very smug.

"Yes."

"Good. Since that's the case, your father here is in a very good mood now and so he's going to tell you a few stories for fun," said a smiley Chu Yang. At the same time, he mentally went through the stories he could tell. Hmm, something that he had personally gone through, and something that his son could draw lessons from and would be able to understand…

He narrated four to five stories in one go, which made the little fellow yawn to the high heavens.

"What's wrong? Is it boring?" asked Minister Chu.

"Dad… these…" The little fellow was so speechless that he was going a little mad.

Stories right… What are you telling me all these for? What I experienced when I was in that sword isn't any less than what you're telling me?

After narrating yet another few stories…

The little fellow finally couldn't take it anymore. He gave him an adorable smile, his two little stubby arms supporting himself as he got up. He said innocently, "Daddy, why not let me tell you a few stories…"