Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1717 - 1754: Fulfillment

At this moment, Shan Shan and Long Ren reunited, and soon had endless things to talk about with each other. Long Ren looked at Shan Shan, noticing that she hadn’t changed much from before — still so cute and lively — except now there was a touch of sadness in her.

Shan Shan looked at Long Ren and glanced around, gratefully saying to him:

"Brother Long, thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to repay you in this lifetime."

"Shan Shan, what are you saying? Everything I did was worth it as long as you could wake up. I never expected this day would actually come, it’s all so magical..."

Long Ren remarked with a hint of emotion.

Shan Shan heard Long Ren’s words and suddenly remembered something. She recalled someone had saved her while she was unconscious, and she turned her gaze towards Ding Fan and the Great Elder, then asked Long Ren with a face full of confusion:

"Brother Long, is that the person who saved me?"

While speaking, she looked towards Ding Fan’s direction. Long Ren heard Shan Shan’s words and directly replied:

"That’s right, Shan Shan. The young man over there is Ding Fan, my sworn brother. It was him who saved you. The older one is Elder Wang, the Great Elder of our Thirty-Six Caves. Elder Wang has also done a lot to help save you."

"I already know that." Shan Shan replied with a playful expression.

Long Ren heard Shan Shan’s words and was taken aback. How could she know? Shan Shan had always been in a comatose state. Curious, Long Ren asked:

"Shan Shan, how do you know?"

"Brother Ding Fan visited me once before, and it was Brother Ding who extracted the True Qi from my body this time. I could feel it. As for Elder Wang, I know him well because he was often around whenever you visited me. But I didn’t expect you, Brother Long, to have become the Lake Master of the Thirty-Six Caves!"

Lively and cute, Shan Shan spoke with her head tilted. Her impression of Long Ren was still from when they were childhood friends growing up together. She remembered that Long Ren was not the Lake Master of the Thirty-Six Caves back then, just a boy always tagging along with her father, learning the trade.

But Shan Shan hadn’t anticipated that nearly ten years had passed. She was no longer a little girl, and Brother Long was no longer the silly boy playing with her; he had become the dignified Lake Master of the Thirty-Six Caves, a position of immense status. Everything had changed so much...

Long Ren felt a surge of emotion hearing Shan Shan’s words. He knew for Shan Shan, who had been comatose for nearly ten years, the world had changed completely, but he couldn’t help asking Shan Shan again:

"Shan Shan, are you saying that even during your coma, you could hear me speaking?"

"Yes, I could hear a little, but not very clearly."

Shan Shan nodded obediently.

Long Ren affectionately touched Shan Shan’s alchemy, then carefully helped her out of the ice coffin. Shan Shan cautiously tried to stand, feeling somewhat unused to it, but Long Ren quickly supported her, speaking with care:

"Take it slow, you haven’t walked for a long time. Shan Shan, you can do it!"

Encouraged by Long Ren’s words, Shan Shan nodded firmly, attempting to stand again. She slowly released Long Ren’s hand but failed on her first try, feeling somewhat surprised herself. She hadn’t realized she couldn’t even stand, let alone walk.

She didn’t anticipate that after lying there, she couldn’t even perform the basic actions of standing or walking. But trying a few more times, she finally succeeded in standing, though her steps were a bit shaky. Long Ren offered a supportive smile.

Shan Shan wished to walk over to Ding Fan to express her gratitude, but Long Ren gently stopped her, saying:

"Brother Ding is currently in a cultivation state, let’s wait to go over."

Shan Shan heard Long Ren’s words and glanced again at Ding Fan, nodding heavily. Then, she and Long Ren began reminiscing continuously. Shan Shan was eager to know the current state of the world, considering so much time had passed by.

Ten years had gone by, such a long time where anything could happen. Shan Shan was incredibly curious about everything, especially regarding Long Ren, wanting to know what he had been doing these past years.

Shan Shan still remembered some past occurrences; in her memory, Long Ren was still the little boy trailing behind her father, eager to learn medicine. Even though later Brother Long learned many things from Father and progressed rapidly, she always felt he was slightly behind.

Before, Shan Shan didn’t understand why she was often better than Brother Long, even without cultivation, her cultivation level improved much faster than Brother Long’s. She didn’t understand until she began showing signs of falling into a coma, realizing her body was quite unique.

Even Shan Shan’s father couldn’t decipher her condition or her special constitution. Before, her rapid improvement delighted her father, but when he noticed her symptoms worsening, he began to suspect something was wrong.

However, by then, it was already too late. Suddenly, Shan Shan thought of her father, and asked Long Ren directly:

"Brother Long, is Father okay?"

Long Ren heard Shan Shan’s question and his joyful demeanor from their previous conversation turned a bit somber. Shan Shan noticed Brother Long’s expression and felt a sense of foreboding, knowing that the time she spent in a coma was long enough for many events to unfold, some unknown to her.

At this moment, Shan Shan was mentally prepared and directly said to Long Ren:

"Brother Long, go ahead, I’m ready."

Long Ren saw the calm look on the other’s face, hesitated, and finally sighed and said:

"Master has passed away, but he didn’t live to see you awaken. Now that you have finally awakened, he would surely be happy in the afterlife."

After hearing Long Ren’s words, Shan Shan’s previously calm face was now marked by tears of sorrow. In her heart, she had thought that her father might no longer be with them. She remembered that her father was already quite old at that time, and although his cultivation was good, age had caught up with him.

Hearing Long Ren’s words, Shan Shan’s heart felt heavy. She knew that her father couldn’t leave peacefully, having not seen her awaken. A wave of guilt washed over Shan Shan’s heart, uncertain of what to say...

Seeing Shan Shan’s expression, Long Ren comforted her without hesitation:

"Father would surely be happy knowing that you have awakened. Don’t dwell on it too much; cherish every day."

"Yes, I will..." Shan Shan said in a choked voice.

Then, to divert Shan Shan’s attention, Long Ren began to talk about the things he had done over the years, hoping she could temporarily forget the sadness of her father’s passing.

...

Meanwhile, Ding Fan, after a round of cultivation, had successfully broken through to the divinity soldier third grade, equivalent to the Nascent Soul Late Stage of a cultivator. But Ding Fan’s strength wasn’t something easily described. His cultivation now allowed him to contend with Spirit Severing Mid Stage cultivators, and even those at the Late Stage, Ding Fan had the power to compete with.

This breakthrough for Ding Fan came smoothly, without any obstacles. Ding Fan felt very satisfied with himself, clearly sensing that his dantian was now more robust, more than twice as solid as before. This was the result Ding Fan hoped for.

Even Ding Fan’s aura now was much sharper than before. As Ding Fan gradually opened his eyes, Elder Wang, who had been waiting patiently by the side, immediately said:

"Congratulations, Mr. Ding."

Upon hearing this, Ding Fan smiled slightly. He knew that absorbing Shan Shan’s True Qi was an opportunity for him, but he also understood that for Elder Wang and Long Ren, it was a significant opportunity as well. After all, the True Qi that Shan Shan couldn’t absorb was transferred to Long Ren and Elder Wang.

However, Ding Fan knew that although Elder Wang and Long Ren absorbed a lot of Shan Shan’s True Qi, not all of it was absorbed completely. They had learned some methods of integrating True Qi, but compared to the real "Devouring Technique," they were still lacking.

Elder Wang, seeing Ding Fan’s successful breakthrough, felt surprised in his heart. He hadn’t expected Ding Fan to break through so quickly. Elder Wang knew that Ding Fan had absorbed a lot of the True Qi inside Shan Shan, just as he himself had absorbed some. But he hadn’t even digested a small portion of that True Qi, while Ding Fan absorbed so much and broke through directly. This was somewhat incredible in Elder Wang’s eyes.

"Brother Ding, thank you for saving my life."

Shan Shan then walked directly to Ding Fan, kneeling in front of him and expressing her sincere gratitude.

Long Ren also knelt on the ground, offering his gratitude to Ding Fan once again:

"Thank you, Brother, for reviving Shan Shan!"

"Stand up, stand up quickly." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Seeing this scene, Ding Fan felt a bit unaccustomed and helped both Long Ren and Shan Shan to their feet. Ding Fan knew he deserved their bow, but given his brotherly bond with Long Ren, expressing such gratitude seemed a bit formal.

"Sister Shan Shan is indeed intelligent and beautiful."

Ding Fan smiled and praised Shan Shan.

Hearing Brother’s words, Shan Shan felt a bit embarrassed. She then turned to Elder Wang beside her and expressed her gratitude:

"Thank you, Elder Wang."

"Haha, it’s what an old man like me should do. Seeing you reunited with the Lake Master is the most delightful thing."

Elder Wang rose to the rare occasion with a smile.

Long Ren gave Elder Wang a grateful look, nodding heavily, knowing that Elder Wang had done everything possible to help him over the years. Long Ren was momentarily at a loss for words to express his gratitude, knowing he could only repay everyone well in the future.

At this moment, everyone wore smiles—smiles that couldn’t be concealed. Everyone’s heart was filled with joy as this was a moment of family reunion.