NOVPUBWestern Expanse – Scarlet Plains.
The Netherworld Army was losing ground.
Hell Asura roared as he bisected a Void Creature, but three more took its place. His obsidian armor was cracked, his breathing ragged.
Suddenly, a spatial ripple.
Yun Lintian appeared mid-air, his white hair fluttering despite the lack of wind.
Hell Asura's crimson eyes widened.
Yun Lintian didn't acknowledge him.
The God Slaying Sword flashed—
And a storm of chaotic energy erupted, annihilating the entire Chaos legion in the area. The remaining Chaos Knights barely had time to register their comrades' deaths before they too were erased from existence.
Hell Asura could only stare as Yun Lintian vanished again without a word.
Yun Lintian continued to travel across the Primal Chaos, dealing with the enemy on the frontlines.
Yun Meilan's voice echoed in Yun Lintian's mind again:
"Southern front secured. Central realms stabilizing. But..."
A pause.
"Their main force is gathering at the ruins of the Primal Chaos Wall. They're preparing something."
Yun Lintian reappeared in the war council chamber, his expression unreadable.
He turned to the assembled leaders. "The Chaos invasion has been pushed back—for now. But the real battle is coming."
His left eye—the void-black one—darkened further.
"I need everyone to stay alert and reinforce the defense lines across the Primal Chaos."
"Are you going to…?" Yun Qianxue asked with a hint of worry.
Yun Lintian looked at her and said gently, "I must go. Qingxuan is waiting for me."
"We will go with you," Shen Liqiu spoke up.
The other women also looked at Yun Lintian with determination.
Yun Lintian smiled and said, "No. All of you must stay here to protect our home. You have been working hard. It's time for me to stand up for everyone."
The war council chamber fell silent.
Yun Qianxue clenched her fists, her frost aura flickering with barely restrained emotion. She wanted to argue—wanted to insist on accompanying Yun Lintian to the Haven. But the look in his mismatched eyes told her everything.
This was not a request. It was a decision.
"...Be careful," she said at last, her voice tight.
The other women exchanged glances but didn't protest. They knew better than anyone that once Yun Lintian set his mind to something, no force in existence could stop him.
Yun Lintian nodded. Then his gaze shifted—landing on Yue Yun, who stood quietly near the window, her Moon Staff gripped tightly in hand.
"Yue Yun," he said softly. "I have something to talk with you."
Yue Yun's golden eyes flickered with surprise, but she inclined her head.
Under the puzzled stares of everyone, the two exited the chamber, stepping into a secluded garden overlooking the bright skies of Nine Firmament City.
The moment the spatial barrier sealed behind them, Yue Yun turned to face him. "What is it?"
Yun Lintian didn't answer immediately. His mismatched eyes studied her—really studied her—for the first time. The slope of her nose. The stubborn set of her jaw. The way her fingers tightened around her staff when nervous.
Details he should have noticed long ago.
Yue Yun shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "If this is about protecting your wives—"
"I knew," Yun Lintian interrupted quietly. "From the moment we met in the God Tomb, I felt it. A connection. But I was too ignorant to dig deeper back then."
Yue Yun's breath hitched. n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
"Now," he continued, his voice calm but carrying the weight of eternity, "after mastering Life and Death, I see what others cannot." He stepped closer. "The bloodline resonance between us."
CLANG!
Yue Yun's staff clattered to the ground.
Panic flashed across her face—raw and unguarded—before she schooled her features into cold indifference. "What are you talking about?"
Yun Lintian smiled faintly. "That night in the Divine Moon Realm's alternate timeline. I slept deeper than usual. When I woke, something in my body had changed." His gaze never left hers. "Was it Yue Hong? Or Yue Lan?"
The names hung between them like a blade.
Yue Yun's mask cracked.
For years, she had imagined this moment—rehearsed denials, crafted lies. But faced with the truth in Yun Lintian's eyes, every prepared word evaporated.
"It... doesn't matter," she forced out, her voice brittle. "Mother made her choice. She never expected—never wanted—your responsibility."
A beat of silence.
Then—
Yun Lintian closed the distance and pulled her into an embrace.
Yue Yun stiffened.
"I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair, his voice thick with something that made her chest ache. "Sorry I wasn't there to watch you grow. Sorry you had to bear the Divine Moon Clan's weight alone."
Something in Yue Yun shattered.
All the loneliness she'd buried—the centuries of standing guard over a dying realm, the nights wondering about the father whose face she didn't know—came rushing out in a torrent.
Her fists clenched against his robes. "I... hated you," she choked out, the lie crumbling as tears spilled. "For leaving her. For leaving me."
Yun Lintian's arms tightened. "I know."
The dam broke.
Yue Yun wept—great, heaving sobs that shook her entire frame. Years of isolation, of pretending strength, poured out unchecked.
Yun Lintian held her through it, his own eyes suspiciously bright. When her tears finally slowed, he cupped her face gently.
"After this war ends," he said softly, "I want to hear everything. Your childhood. Your mother. All of it."
Yue Yun swallowed hard but nodded.
A spatial ripple interrupted them—Yun Meilan's urgent voice echoed in Yun Lintian's mind.
"They have begun to attack again. This time, their target is the Southern Expanse. I'm afraid they are heading to the Divine Realm."
Yun Lintian's expression hardened. He released Yue Yun and retrieved her fallen staff.
"Stay with the others," he said, pressing the weapon into her hands. "Protect our home."
Yue Yun wiped her eyes and straightened. For the first time, she met his gaze without flinching. "Bring your wife back. And come back alive... Dad."
The word, so long unspoken, hung between them like a vow.
Yun Lintian smiled—a real, warm smile—before vanishing into the void…
