The Foundation Establishment Grand Competition lasted for two days, and in the end the Long Family had the slight upper hand and won the Foundation Establishment Stage contest.

The Li Family provided lodgings for all those who had come to participate, or else they stayed outside.

During this time, Lu Ping sought out several Li Family Cultivators to ask around, inquiring about news of Li Chaoge, but the replies he got were that no one knew Li Chaoge, and that there was no one in the clan by that name.

"Does Chaoge have any other names?"

Lu Ping pondered inwardly and thought of this possibility.

It seemed he would have to finish watching the family competition before saying anything more.

These two days, Lu Ping stayed at an inn in Yu Yang City and did not live in the Li Family compound.

Until the third day, when the Crystallization Grand Competition began in full heat, Crystallization Stage Cultivators from the Li Family and the Long Family took the stage one after another, each displaying their might.

On this day, while he was watching the matches and thinking that there truly was no trace of Li Chaoge here, he finally saw a familiar figure, and his heart couldn’t help but tremble. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Chaoge?"

Sensing the fluctuation in Lu Ping’s emotions, Shanshan and the Void Celestial Sword Spirit were immediately stirred, and both followed Lu Ping’s gaze.

They saw a woman in a purple dress with golden-trimmed sleeves step onto the stage. Her features were stunningly beautiful, her figure graceful and lithe, enough to be called a face that put moon and flowers to shame. She looked to be just over twenty.

Female Cultivators all had methods to preserve their looks; from appearance alone it was hard to tell their real age. But the woman’s beauty and apparent age were not what drew Lu Ping’s attention.

The key was that this woman looked far too much like Li Chaoge—at least an eighty percent resemblance.

Not only that, in the lines of her brows and eyes, Lu Ping saw a hint of resemblance to himself. What was going on?

Unable to calm his heart, Lu Ping immediately turned to Wen Xianhe beside him and asked, "This Li Family Elder who has taken the stage, do you know what her name is?"

The purple robe with golden floral trim at the cuffs marked her as an Elder of the Li Family; one could recognize it at a glance.

Hearing the urgency in Lu Ping’s tone—and it was the first time she had seen him show such an expression—Wen Xianhe straightened her face, looked a few times at that Female Elder, and said calmly.

"Senior, I remember this person. She is the youngest Elder of the Li Family; her name is Li Shuwan, and her Cultivation seems to be at the Ninth-Layer Crystallization Stage. It’s said she is the Li Family’s most promising candidate to become the youngest Golden Core Cultivator."

"Li Shuwan."

Lu Ping murmured this name under his breath and continued to ask, "Then do you know who her parents are?"

"That I don’t know."

Wen Xianhe shook her head, then suddenly thought of something and said, "However, it’s said that this Li Shuwan has another name, Lu Shuwan. Only when she is in the Li Family does she go by Li Shuwan."

"That is rather strange."

Lu Shuwan, with the surname Lu—could she be his daughter?

Lu Ping’s gaze toward Li Shuwan softened considerably, and his heart grew even more unsettled.

He took a deep breath and continued asking about this woman’s information.

"As for the details, I don’t remember very clearly. Senior, let me look it up—it won’t take long."

Realizing that Lu Ping was very focused on this person, Wen Xianhe took out a thick book and began to flip through it.

Lu Ping’s eyes moved as he glanced over and saw the title "Li Family of Cyan Simurgh Lake" written on the ancient book. Looking further inside, he saw page after page of written records about Li Family Members.

Clearly, this was a character dossier related to the Li Family.

That Wen Xianhe had been able to obtain this suggested she had put in no small amount of effort when investigating the Li Family for him back then.

"Found it, found it."

After only searching for a short while, Wen Xianhe found the information on Li Shuwan under the "Zhi" generation entry and said in delight.

"Let me read it myself."

Before Wen Xianhe could begin to explain, Lu Ping called out, then directly took the book from her hands and started reading.

"Li Shuwan, Ninth-Layer Crystallization Stage Cultivation, youngest daughter of Li Zhilu of the ’Zhi’ generation of the Li Family. At the age of thirty-one she became the nineteenth Elder of the Li Family..."

After reading this woman’s information, light surged in Lu Ping’s eyes. From the age alone, this Li Shuwan matched the age his daughter would have.

Back when he went into Secluded Cultivation, Li Chaoge had already been one month pregnant. If Li Chaoge had remained safe, she would have given birth to their child. Calculating by time, this Li Shuwan was very likely his youngest daughter.

In other words, Li Shuwan was his fourth child, taken back to the Li Family and raised together by his wife!

"Li Zhilu, Li Shuwan, Lu Shuwan."

Lu Ping murmured these three names to himself; they all seemed to have something to do with him.

Putting away the Li Family book, Lu Ping once again turned his gaze toward Li Shuwan, just in time to see her controlling the Flying Snow Immortal Sword and breaking through Long Tailing’s Shield defense.

The Flying Snow Immortal Sword spun in midair, bursting forth with snow-white radiance, then slashed toward Long Tailing again.

Long Tailing’s delicate face changed. As a fellow Female Cultivator, she hadn’t expected Li Shuwan’s strength to be this formidable. She hastily summoned a lustrous white Flying Sword to meet the attack, only to have it knocked flying.

Having failed to do anything to Li Shuwan with two attacks and having fallen into disadvantage, Long Tailing knew she was no match and immediately recalled her lustrous white Flying Sword.

"I concede."

With the outcome decided, a cheer rose from the Li Family’s side, and many of the onlooking Cultivators nodded to themselves in secret. It was clear that this was a battle Li Shuwan was destined to win.

Having secured victory, Li Shuwan stepped down from the dueling platform and went to sit among a group of Li Family high-ranking members, with Lu Ping’s gaze following her closely, completely drawn in.

"Senior, is this Li Shuwan the person you’ve been looking for?"

Wen Xianhe hesitated but still spoke up to ask.

Lu Ping nodded noncommittally—one could take it as a yes.

Since he had already found Li Shuwan, it should not be difficult to find Li Chaoge through her.

This was not the time to question her; it would be better to wait until this family competition was over and then stay in the Li Family to ask carefully.

Having uncovered this clue, Lu Ping watched the rest of the family competition with much more ease, his eyes drifting from time to time in Li Shuwan’s direction.

The Crystallization Grand Competition lasted only half a day before drawing to a close. Among the matches, the most spectacular were Li Shuwan’s bouts; her strength stood out in particular, drawing looks of admiration even from the Long Family Cultivators.

"Hahahaha, good, good, my Li Family is indeed full of talented people. That we could win this time is truly somewhat beyond this old man’s expectations."

When the competition ended and the prizes were being awarded, Li Mingxu laughed heartily, his face radiant with delight, feeling extremely satisfied.

In the past two family competitions, the Long Family had won twice in a row. This time, the Li Family had finally prevailed. The pent-up frustration in his heart was swept away at once, replaced by ease and elation.

"That we could win this time is also the result of the younger generation’s efforts. Over on the Long Family’s side, there are also several juniors whose strength is outstanding and whose talent is remarkable."

Li Qianye said with a smile. The Long Family’s Long Lingshu and Long Lingzhi, for example—their Talent and strength were both excellent, and within the Foundation Establishment Stage they could be called top-tier.