Stellar Transformation-Chapter 88 - 18 Family Reunion

"The uprising has begun, how come it’s so sudden? What’s the current situation and how have the bandits of the Black Water Mountain Range been dealt with? Is the Shangguan Family truly sincere in forming an alliance with us?" Qin Yu couldn’t wait and started asking Manager Li.

Qin De’s early initiation of the uprising had evidently caught Qin Yu by surprise; he had never imagined his father would act so swiftly. Initially, Qin Yu had been worried about the Qin Family’s ambition to unify the entire Chu Dynasty, especially considering the strength of the Xiang Family and the threat of bandits.

"Rest assured, Third Prince, when His Highness the Prince started the uprising, everything was well-prepared. At his command, we swept through with overwhelming momentum. Our troops suffered almost no losses and we have now taken control of ten counties of the Chu Dynasty," Manager Li said with a wave of his hand, unaware that Zhenyang County had already been breached, as the news hadn’t reached them yet.

Qin Yu was startled, "What, ten counties?"

Qin Yu could hardly imagine how his father had dealt with the Mu and Shangguan Families in such a short time.

"Haha, Third Prince, His Highness conducts his strategies behind the scenes, and there’s much you aren’t aware of. The three hundred thousand bandits of the Black Water Mountain Range had secretly pledged their loyalty to our Qin Family long ago. As for the Shangguan Family, which wanted to take us by surprise, they were instead outmaneuvered by His Highness and ended up with us controlling the Northern Domain Two Prefectures. As for the Southern Domain Three Counties... I’m not entirely sure what happened, but they inexplicably pledged allegiance to His Highness," he explained.

Qin Yu’s mind rapidly grasped the course of the war.

"Northern Domain Two Prefectures. A surprise attack?" Qin Yu, knowing that his father had taken control of the Northern Domain Two Prefectures, guessed some of the tactics involved, including assassination and entrapment.

Qin Yu’s eyebrows furrowed, and a spark of light flashed in his eyes, "Uncle Li, where is my father now? And what about my elder and second brothers?" Qin Yu was most eager to see his family. After being separated for so long, he believed he could now finally be of some help.

Manager Li pondered briefly and replied, "His Highness the Prince is in Xiyang Town, near the Black Water Mountain Range, while Your Highness is leading troops in Thunder Blood County. The Second Prince is in ’Wuxue Town,’ next to Xiyang Town."

"Xiyang Town?" Qin Yu’s eyes lit up.

Qin Yu had left Cloud Mist Villa at the age of thirteen to begin accepting assassin missions. He often traveled around the Chu Dynasty with Little Black, becoming intimately familiar with many cities and even small towns. Upon mentioning Xiyang Town, it immediately sprung to his mind.

Inside a courtyard in Xiyang Town.

"Your Highness, if Xiang Yang really sends an assassin, wouldn’t that mean Your Highness could lose your life? No matter what, Your Highness shouldn’t joke with your own life," Xu Yuan said resentfully to Qin De.

However, seeing Qin De alive, Xu Yuan also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The silk bag that Qin De left for him described what needed to be done regarding various matters of the Qin Family should Qin De die. Reading the contents of the silk bag, Xu Yuan knew something was wrong. Fortunately, in the end, Qin De had survived and flew down from the sky.

"Xu Yuan, for an early-stage Nascent Soul expert, it’s impossible for me to avoid him as a fellow Cultivator. In the Mortal World, with my Golden Core Stage Cultivation, I’m like a bright lamp in the darkness; he could quickly find me," Qin De said with a light smile.

Xu Yuan understood Qin De’s meaning, but still said, "Your Highness, is Xiang Yang really that formidable? Are neither you nor Upper Immortal Feng Yuzi a match for him?"

Although Xu Yuan was exceptionally intelligent, he was still unaware of the affairs of the Cultivation World.

A forced smile appeared on Qin De’s face, "Even if Upper Immortal Feng Yuzi and I joined forces, we wouldn’t be able to hurt a single hair on Xiang Yang’s head. Early-stage Nascent Soul, ah. The difference in strength is too great!" Qin De was inwardly distressed about how to deal with Xiang Yang.

If they couldn’t resolve the issue with Xiang Yang, even if the Qin Family could conquer the world, an enraged Xiang Yang would likely kill every member of the Qin Family.

"We can only temporarily order all the troops to stop attacking, if we don’t solve this problem, attacking again would just provoke Xiang Yang, that terrifying fellow," Qin De frowned deeply. When Xiang Yang left just now, Qin De had already sent orders to all divisions—cease attack!

Xiang Yang!

An advanced super-expert in the early-stage Nascent Soul, how to deal with him?

Qin De pondered hard, but when the gap in strength between cultivators became too vast, schemes and tricks became useless.

"Prince, did Wood come by just now?" a clear voice called out. Qin De looked up and saw Feng Yuzi riding a flying sword from afar, flying directly into the courtyard. Feng Yuzi’s eyes showed a trace of urgency.

"Wood? If it were only Wood, that would be fine. The Xiang Family’s patriarch, Xiang Yang, also came," Qin De said, shaking his head with a smile.

Feng Yuzi had heard of Xiang Yang’s great reputation and furrowed his brows slightly, "Xiang Yang? The first Emperor of the Xiang Family, if he is still alive, he must have been cultivating for nearly a thousand years. His strength is probably close to Wood’s, I suppose."

"Close? If it were only close, I wouldn’t be so troubled. Early-stage Nascent Soul," Qin De stated bluntly, "That Xiang Yang has reached the early-stage Nascent Soul."

"What, heavens, early-stage Nascent Soul, how is that possible? The gap is too big, far too big!" Feng Yuzi’s face changed completely. An early-stage Nascent Soul expert could deal with three or four at the late stage of Golden Core, and he was merely at the middle stage of Golden Core, while Qin De was only at the early stage of Golden Core. There was simply no comparison.

"With such a super-expert in the Xiang Family, isn’t your plan finished?" Feng Yuzi knew quite a bit about Qin De’s affairs; he didn’t know other things, but he knew one thing—

It was impossible to kill an early-stage Nascent Soul expert with a war of attrition, nor could he and Qin De manage to kill one.

Qin De gave a wry smile, "Brother Feng, don’t worry too much about it, let’s play a game first," Whenever Qin De encountered problems that racked his brain to no avail, he would set them aside, relax for a while, and then continue thinking.

Feng Yuzi nodded as well, "Then I will join you for a game, Prince."

Qin De and Feng Yuzi then sat down and began to play Go peacefully.

...

Within Thunder Blood County, in the house where Qin Feng resided.

"General, the Prince has ordered that we must only hold the city and not launch any attacks," a messenger clearly conveyed Qin De’s orders to Qin Feng, who couldn’t help but ask upon hearing this, "Then when do we start the war?"

The messenger replied, "The Prince said there’s no need for war for now, unless he gives another order."

Qin Feng frowned and waved the messenger away, but he was thinking to himself, "Father’s order is to not start the war anymore. And he didn’t specify a time limit either. Just when victory was within sight, why would Father..."

"General, did the Prince have any orders?" a middle-aged man in his forties walked in.

Qin Feng nodded, "Yes, my father has given an order. We just need to hold the city and not launch attacks, and he didn’t specify a time limit either."

The middle-aged man’s brows furrowed slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

"Brother Ximen, I am entrusting you with this army of one hundred thousand for now. Remember, you just need to hold the city; do not leave it to attack. As for me, I must personally go see my father to find out what has happened." Qin Feng said as he received the order, but he could not put his mind at ease.

Qin Feng wasn’t worried that anything would happen in his absence. After all, if war were to break out again, his father would surely issue a command, and if that happened while he was in Xiyang Town, he would naturally receive the order.

"Your Highness, are you leaving now?" Ximen Xin asked, puzzled.

Qin Feng nodded, "I am leaving at once. This is my token. I trust your abilities to solely defend the city. In terms of defense, I am not your match," Qin Feng said with a smile. He was very reassured handing this task to the experienced and prudent Ximen Xin.

Qin De and Feng Yuzi had been playing Go for six or seven hours straight as if they had forgotten the time.

Xu Yuan, watching the game silently by their side, knew that neither Qin De nor Feng Yuzi were ordinary people. Even going without food wasn’t a big deal for them, so he didn’t disturb them, although he himself took a meal break midway.

Qin De, holding a white piece, hesitated for a long time before making his move, but Feng Yuzi just watched and did not rush him. After a while, a trace of joy suddenly appeared on Qin De’s face, and with a "bang," he placed the piece down.

"Brother Feng, I think that... Eh?"

Qin De and Feng Yuzi suddenly stood up and looked toward the east.

"A master," Qin De said gravely, "a master far surpassing both you and me." Qin De was already troubled with the appearance of Xiang Yang, and now it seemed that two incredibly powerful presences were rapidly approaching from a distance. The sheer speed alone was startling.

Feng Yuzi’s face was also serious.

"Whoosh!"

A black shadow and a faint silver one, like meteors, descended swiftly from the high skies, almost instantaneously arriving in the courtyard. The faces of these two mysterious masters were finally revealed.

Qin De was stunned in an instant.

So were Feng Yuzi and Xu Yuan.

The three of them looked incredulously at the young man who had appeared, that familiar aura, those familiar eyes, and even that familiar Black Hawk.

"Father!"

Qin Yu choked up, finally uttering his first cry; after more than ten months spent in the vast Primordial Wilderness, enduring a grueling journey of over ten thousand li, he had finally returned, finally seeing his father Qin De. That one word made Qin De shiver.

In Qin De’s eyes were disbelief and ecstatic joy.

It was unimaginable how much meaning could dwell within a person’s gaze.

"Yu... Yu’er!" Qin De said, trembling, "Is it really you? Are you still alive? Am I dreaming?" Qin De could hardly believe it was true; Qin Yu, who had been fatally stabbed through the heart before his very eyes, was now alive in front of him. Yet Qin De also dearly wished for his son to truly be alive.

Qin Yu nodded heavily, his eyes becoming moist, "Father, I’m alive, I’m still alive."

The father and son gazed at each other, no words needed to be spoken. All their emotions were conveyed through their eyes.

A person’s aura changes with their cultivation and insights, but the changes are not significant. Feng Yuzi also noticed that the aura of the person in front of him, who looked exactly like Qin Yu, was very similar to Qin Yu’s own, except it was steadier and contained a sharper momentum than before.

As for Qin De, there was no need for doubt. The exchange of looks in their eyes, the connection between them, had already completely convinced him. Moreover, the blood connection between father and son made Qin De a hundred percent sure that the man before him was his son.

Although he couldn’t understand at all how his son had come back to life.

But did that need to be questioned? The mere fact that his son was alive was already a great fortune. Qin De was thanking heaven and earth; why bother to question how Qin Yu had been resurrected?

...

It was still deep into the night when Qin De immediately ordered his subordinates to prepare a rich feast. Since returning from Tribulation Crossing, Qin De had never felt so happy, so excited. He even became less particular about food and drink. Suddenly, Qin De’s excitement to prepare a feast ignited a fiery enthusiasm among the cooks as well.

During the night, the entire Xiyang Town was ablaze with light. In the courtyard of Qin De’s residence, Qin De, Xu Yuan, Feng Yuzi, and Qin Yu sat around a stone table. Dishes were served one after the other until six plates filled the table, and then they paused temporarily.

Not far from the stone table, there was a huge roast sheep prepared for Little Black.

"Little Black, I didn’t know you liked cooked food. I always thought you only liked to eat wild beasts," Qin Yu said to Little Black through spiritual communication. When they began to place dishes on the stone table, Little Black surprisingly communicated with Qin Yu through spiritual communication, saying he wanted to eat a roast sheep.

Naturally, Qin Yu told his father. Qin De could sense Little Black’s strength and was amazed at Little Black’s prowess. Hearing what Qin Yu said, he immediately ordered a roast sheep to be prepared.

"Blame me? Big Brother, I had not undergone Tribulation Crossing before, and my spiritual wisdom wasn’t very high. After the Tribulation Crossing, I cultivated and endured the hardships all the way back. Using our True Fire to roast wild beasts would probably reduce them to ashes in an instant," said Little Black helplessly.

Having passed the Four-nine Heavenly Tribulations, Little Black’s spiritual wisdom was almost equivalent to that of humans. Naturally, he had many thoughts of his own.

"Yu’er, I really couldn’t imagine that the pillar of light like the Heavenly Tribulation was actually a Transmission Technique. You’ve cultivated in the Primordial Wilderness for so long, you must have gone through the Four-nine Heavenly Tribulations by now, right? Father feels that your strength not only surpasses mine, but also Uncle Feng’s," Qin De marveled.

Qin Yu chuckled, "There are quite a few demon beasts in the Primordial Wilderness. I killed them and refined the power of their Golden Cores, that’s how I made such rapid progress. As for my strength, I should have no problem dealing with Golden Core Late Stage masters."

Qin Yu was being modest. Neither he nor Little Black could judge their true strength from appearances. Initially, when Qin Yu was in the Early Stage Star Nebula and Little Black was an Early Stage Black Golden Core, they unleashed their ultimate moves and killed two Black Wind Leopards at the Golden Core Late Stage. Later, having refined the Golden Cores of two Golden Core Late Stage beasts, Qin Yu and Little Black both advanced a step.

Now, Qin Yu was at the Middle Stage Star Nebula, and Little Black was at the Golden Core Middle Stage. Indeed, dealing with a Golden Core Late Stage would be easy as pie.

No sooner had Qin Yu finished speaking than the sound of hooves was heard outside the courtyard.

"Father," a familiar voice called out, and the great doors of the courtyard swung open. Qin Feng had rushed through the night to reach Xiyang Town finally, heading straight for the courtyard, "Father, why did you give that order... Ah, Little Yu!"

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Qin Feng was struck dumb as if hit by thunder.