Chapter 28: Entanglement, Mid-Stage Flight!

Under her mother's narration, Liu Qingqing's expression was complex.

She hadn't known any of this before, remembering only that as a child she had a special feeling towards Gu Changge, a closeness.

Her mother and father often took her to the Gu Family when she was young, and she would play behind Gu Changge.

Even this time, coming to the Gu Family, having not seen him for many years, she still felt that special closeness to Gu Changge!

Even if it was the same words, the same praise, coming from others she felt nothing, but when Gu Changge complimented her, she would be very happy.

All of this, it seems, was not only because Gu Changge's actions made her feel comfortable, but also because she had absorbed his Root Bone back then!

"Does he... know about this?"

"Who else knows about this...?"

Liu Qingqing fell silent for a long while before asking tremulously.

In her memory, she could still see the faces of Gu Changge's parents, who had always been smiling and kind to her, even though it was because of her that their child had lost the chance to cultivate.

She dared not imagine how much resolution it took for them to make this decision!

No wonder her mother favored Gu Changge over herself, and now that she knew the truth, she herself felt a vague sense of heartache.

He suffered humiliation because of her, and even the root cause of his inability to cultivate was also because of her!

"He probably doesn't know, the people who were aware of this matter back then, now besides my mother, probably only Uncle Gu remains."

"But these past years, he hardly seems to have returned to the Gu Family, also because of that past matter."

"He... shouldn't have told the child Changge about this."

Zhao Ling shook her head, she too was worried about this issue, especially after hearing that Gu Kuang had returned to the Gu Family. She planned to visit him tomorrow and hoped to convince him not to reveal this secret to Gu Changge.

Although this might be somewhat unfair to the child Changge, Zhao Ling felt in her heart that if Qingqing could marry him, in the future, at least she could protect him somewhat, and it would not be a bad thing for him.

"But... should we really not tell him?"

Liu Qingqing looked distressed, feeling somewhat relieved that Gu Changge did not know this secret, but it only made her dilemma greater.

Every time she interacted with Gu Changge now, it was very easy-going, even though he always liked to tease her, she didn't mind.

Even though their time together was brief, she already had his figure etched in her heart.

"If he knew, he would probably find it difficult to accept."

"Taking someone's Root Bone is akin to killing one's parents; calling it a life-and-death enmity is not an exaggeration!"

"From now on, remember to be good to him, he has already suffered too much."

Zhao Ling sighed, her hand gently brushing her daughter's long hair with pity.

Throughout the following conversation about routine family matters, Liu Qingqing was heavily preoccupied, eventually deciding to practice cultivation all night to calm her heart.

Zhao Ling, who knew her daughter's nature well, watched her daughter in cultivation, full of concern.

She somewhat regretted whether she should have kept these words from her daughter.

But if she didn't tell her these things, who would know of the sacrifices the child Changge had made?

Just as with everyone in the Heavenly Cold Sect, who thought that Changge was reaching above his station by being with Qingqing, how would they know, Qingqing's life was exchanged for the boy's Root Bone!

...

The next morning, Gu Changge slowly ended a night of cultivation.

Though he could claim the cultivation results of his Daoist couple, which was much faster than cultivating on his own, he was not a lazy person. If his realm grew too close to Liu Qingqing's, the speed of his breakthroughs would slow down.

There was no lack of solutions, of course. Binding multiple Daoist couples could double the speed, but he was not someone who acted rashly. He wouldn't casually confirm a Daoist couple relationship with anyone until he found the right woman.

However, during cultivation, he felt extremely comfortable, much more relaxed than sleeping.

After a night of cultivation, refreshed in both spirit and body, he was restored to the best condition.

[Claim the cultivation results of last night's Daoist couple Liu Qingqing.]

He skillfully opened the panel and once again took receipt of Liu Qingqing's cultivation achievements from the previous night.

The familiar feeling spread from within his body.

Despite his desire to use his Divine Sense to probe the source of the nascent spiritual power, he found nothing.

He just let the endless stream of spiritual energy autonomously nourish his meridians all over his body.

With the expansion and continuous strengthening of his meridians, he could faintly feel a small portion of the spiritual energy within them beginning to liquefy!

At this moment, after more than half a month, his realm finally broke through to the mid-stage of the Sky-controlling Realm!

Although this speed might not be satisfactory to him.

If others knew about it, they would probably treat him as a monster!

People like Gu Zhan and the Heavenly Cold Sect Elders wouldn't believe that he could achieve this on his own and were convinced that an ancestor from the Gu Family must be secretly transferring power to him!

With a thought, the familiar panel appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Gu Changge]

[Root Bone: 102]

[Comprehension: 88]

[Cultivation Technique: Mystic Sky Technique (Earth Rank Mid-Grade)]

[Realm: Sky-controlling Realm Mid-Stage]

[Divine Skills: Lingfeng Nine Swords (Dark Grade Top Quality·Small Success), Shadow Concealing Step (Earth Rank Lower Grade·Small Success), Heavenly Cold Finger (Earth Rank Mid-Grade·Beginner)]

At this moment, seeing his own panel, Gu Changge couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.

Compared to a month ago, both his Root Bone and Comprehension were in single digits, but now his Root Bone had broken through a hundred.

His realm, starting from a mere mortal, had also forcefully broken through two Great Realms, reaching the current mid-stage of the Sky-controlling Realm!

Among the peers of the Gu Family still present, he was considered above average!

After all, in the entire Gu Family, among his generation, those in the Qi Sea Realm are less than the number of fingers on one hand.

If he were to encounter a disciple of the Heavenly Cold Sect like Liu Xin from the Sky-controlling Realm again, he was even confident that, just like last time against a Qi Condensation Realm disciple, he could suppress them instantly!

To say he was invincible at the same realm wasn't an exaggeration at all, with his Divine Skills, none of which should be possible for someone in the Sky-controlling Realm to master!

Yet, just being in the Sky-controlling Realm, he wasn't quite satisfied, judging by his current pace, as long as Liu Qingqing continued to cultivate normally each day, in at most another month, he would have the chance to make a strike at the threshold of the Qi Sea Realm!

If he were to give Liu Qingqing the Ten-thousand-year-old Snow Lotus and Sudden Enlightenment Pill in his possession for successful refining, perhaps even this time could be shortened to one month!

"Cultivation... it's just like that!"

"Now the Gu Family doesn't really have any external troubles, even if the Northern Domain Royal Family wants to annex Qingzhou, they will have to plan it slowly."

"If it truly comes to that day, who knows, I might already be a Great Cultivator of the Heavenly Gate Realm..."

Gu Changge stroked his chin, murmuring confidently.

After reflecting for a while, he left the courtyard and headed to the Back Mountain, planning to familiarize himself with the recent breakthrough in power and thoroughly master it.

...

Meanwhile, at another courtyard of the Heavenly Cold Sect.

Zhao Ling spent the night awake, preoccupied with the idea of visiting Gu Kuang to discuss whether it was possible to keep the past a secret from Gu Changge.

After her daughter finished cultivating, she left a simple message and departed directly.

"Should I keep this from him?"

"Is this really fair to him?"

After her mother left, Liu Qingqing was caught in a dilemma; she didn't want to deceive Gu Changge, but she also feared that he would turn against her if he found out, just as her mother had worried.

After much struggling, she made her own choice, left the courtyard, and set out to find Gu Changge...