Tang Leyin departed, and Li Tan prepared to begin his cultivation right away in an attempt to break through to the Xiantian realm.
Due to yesterday’s battle with Cang Jue, he was now closer to the Xiantian Realm than before. Even without any special opportunities, he could definitely break through with some cultivation. However, one night was too short to guarantee success.
Still, there was no harm in trying.
But just as he was about to begin cultivation, knocking on the door rang out again.
“Li Tan, are you in there?”
The person at the door called out. From the voice, it was Li Hantian.
Li Tan yawned and replied, “Not here.”
Bang!
The door swung open. Li Xiu entered uninvited, his gaze toward Li Tan subtly cold. He found a chair and sat down, asking grumpily, “Aren’t you here?”
“…” Li Tan.
Li Tan found him annoying. Whether it was because his cultivation plan was disturbed or he was just a little annoyed, he immediately snapped, “If you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute.”
“You!”
Li Hantian’s eyes flared, grinding his teeth as he forced out the words, “Is there anything wrong with what I said?”
“Nothing wrong.”
“Then why are you mocking me?”
“Just felt like scolding you.”
Li Hantian was furious, but he couldn’t do anything to Li Tan. First, he couldn’t act against him now—his father was right next door. Second, after all that had happened, his inner self had already started to waver. Or rather, subconsciously, he had already accepted that he was no match for Li Tan.
The afternoon’s elimination match—appearing on the arena stage from the rest area in just two seconds, rescuing Li Jiaying unharmed, and flawlessly countering Lin Cui’s sword technique—was simply unimaginable from the perspective of a cultivator at the Houtian level.
But because of that moment, Li Tan’s reputation as the “waste” of Linjiang was completely washed away.
Seeing Li Hantian at a loss, Li Tan decided not to press further. Looking out the window at the trees, he asked, “So, what did you come for?” Li Hantian also suppressed his anger. “What’s the deal with that white bird?”
Li Tan replied calmly, “Didn’t I already say clearly? I picked it up in the Zhui Xian Domain.”
“Then why couldn’t I pick it up?”
“No idea, maybe because you’re ugly.”
“I won’t bicker with you. Hmph, I think it’s a demonic beast.”
Li Hantian’s expression instantly turned serious, his face becoming solemn as he stared straight at Li Tan.
“Oh?
Quite a bold guess. Please, do share your insights.”
Li Hantian poured himself a cup of tea, drank it down, and said, “The day before yesterday, my black dog was defeated by that white bird, wasn’t it?”
Li Tan glanced at him. “So?”
“Hmph, although that black dog wasn’t a ferocious beast, it was carefully selected by me. It could even defeat some low-level ferocious beasts, with strength close to the early stage of Houtian. A young beast picked up randomly couldn’t possibly be its match unless…” Li Hantian muttered under his breath, his piercing gaze fixed on Li Tan. Though he left the sentence unfinished, the implication hung heavily in the air.
Li Tan’s eyelid twitched, his heart suddenly sinking.
He had already forgotten that incident, but he hadn’t expected Li Hantian to bring it up again and even guess that the white bird was a demonic beast.
As mentioned earlier, Li Tan didn’t mind his family knowing about Xiao Bai’s identity. But in the real world, secrets rarely stay hidden. If the news leaked out, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.
A young demonic beast, especially a mutated one, was an object of immense temptation, capable of inciting bloodshed and chaos.
This wasn’t just about Li Tan fearing someone might try to take Xiao Bai away. Frankly speaking, the temptation of Xiao Bai wouldn’t be that great across Jiuzhou. However, any power interested in Xiao Bai would be far beyond what the Li family could handle.
Li Tan would eventually leave one day. If enemies came looking for Xiao Bai while he was away, the entire Li family, even Linjiang itself, might face annihilation.
“This is your reason for concluding that Xiao Bai is a demonic beast?”
Li Tan steadied his mind, feigning indifference as he asked.
“Exactly.”
Li Hantian nodded firmly, staring straight into Li Tan’s eyes.
Eyes are the window to the soul. If someone is lying, it’s easiest to detect from their gaze.
However, Li Tan’s self-control was strong, and there was not the slightest flaw in his gaze.
Still, he needed to come up with a plausible excuse to deflect suspicion. Otherwise, Li Hantian’s doubts would pose a serious threat.
The best way to eliminate the danger right now would actually be to kill him to silence him, but Li Tan was unwilling to harm his own family.
“Are you an idiot?”
Li Tan looked at Li Hantian disdainfully, lightly tapping the teacup on the table. “Tell me, how likely is it for a demonic beast to appear at the outskirts of the Zhui Xian Domain?”
Li Hantian hesitated, unsure, “Almost zero, but isn’t there still a possibility?”
“Fine, let’s assume a stupid demonic beast went out for a walk, what are the odds it would be carrying a young one and then lose it?”
Li Hantian looked as if he had been struck. After a long silence, he finally spoke, “Absolutely zero.”
“Xiao Bai is indeed not an ordinary ferocious beast, but I don’t have to explain everything to you, understand?”
“Understood.”
“Then get out. I need to cultivate.”
Li Hantian left with some lingering doubts. Obviously, he didn’t fully believe Li Tan’s words, but what Li Tan said was logically sound.
A demonic beast walking in the outskirts of Zhui Xian Domain with a young one and losing it—such a possibility was indeed zero. But if the beast had been chased by other demons, had died in the outskirts of Zhui Xian Domain while protecting its young, then the possibility wasn’t zero.
Li Tan had simply played a clever word game.
In any case, although Li Hantian still had doubts, at least he wouldn’t suspect Xiao Bai as a demonic beast anymore.
“Brother Li Tan.”
Not long after Li Hantian left, Li Jiaying cheerfully walked in.
“Why did you come here instead of focusing on your cultivation?”
Li Tan scolded her with words, though in reality, there was little reprimand in his tone. The smile on his face revealed his true feelings.
“Hmph, last-minute cramming is useless. That’s what you taught me, big brother.”
Li Jiaying said playfully, hugging the lazy Xiao Bai in her arms.
“When did I ever tell you that?
Thinking carefully, Li Tan actually found a memory fragment.
Around the age of ten, there was a basic swordplay exam. Because Li Tan couldn’t cultivate at all, he had no interest and gave up completely. At that time, Li Jiaying came to ask why he wasn’t practicing, and he used the excuse that last-minute cramming was useless to brush her off. A casual remark, yet this girl not only remembered it clearly but also applied it skillfully.
But that’s not something you should learn!
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