Volume Two: The Life of a Bandit Chapter Two: Beyond the Celestial Lord

Divine Realm, City of Mist.

“Father, Mother, I know I was wrong. Please punish me.” Qin Shuang knelt on the ground, head bowed, his voice earnest.

Jiang Li helped Qin Shuang to his feet, his heart heavy. “Xiao Shuang, in the past it was your father and mother who failed you, making you suffer. But now you’ve returned, and your cultivation has reached the Celestial Deity level. Don’t leave again. Stay in the Divine Realm, stay in the City of Mist. If you tire of it, you can visit your father’s new universe. Now, there is already life in your father’s new universe.”

Qin Yu’s heart was also uneasy, especially at the memory of those words: “I’m afraid that if I can’t see Father often, one day I’ll forget his face.” Even now, that sentiment was hard to forget.

“A new universe with life?” Qin Shuang was taken aback. “Is it the space that was once inside Father’s body?”

“Yes, Xiao Shuang,” Qin Yu took over. “I only learned later that the space formed within my body is a brand-new universe, just like this one. It’s divided into the Mortal Realm, the Immortal, Demon, and Beast Realm, and the Divine Realm.”

“A brand-new… universe?” Qin Shuang was momentarily stunned. “Then… does that make Father a Sovereign now?”

“Sovereign?” Qin Si chuckled. “In Father’s eyes, Sovereigns are nothing special. Even the three current Sovereigns of the Divine Realm must address Father as Martial Uncle when they meet him. We’re on equal footing with those Sovereigns.”

“Equal footing… with Sovereigns?” Qin Shuang’s head was spinning from all the news since his return. Suddenly, he remembered something Linley had once said: “To leave that space, one must break through to the Sovereign level.”

“So, there really is a higher existence above Sovereigns…” Yet Qin Shuang did not regret it, for his own talent was limited. Even if he became a Sovereign, to become something greater was nearly impossible.

“Xiao Shuang, if you wish, you can be a Sovereign in my new universe,” Jiang Li offered, revealing the matter of the new universe. Qin Yu also had to make his stance clear; if Qin Shuang was willing, he would be glad to have his son by his side.

As for Qin Si, Qin Yu was now certain he would not remain by his side in the future. From the moment Qin Si’s name disappeared from the Hongmeng Golden Ranking, he had known.

Qin Shuang kept his head down and spoke softly, “Father, thank you. But I still hope to walk my own path.”

“Good, good!” Qin Shuang’s words were simple, not grandiose, his voice gentle and warm, but to Qin Yu’s ears, they were incomparably bold.

To refuse becoming a Sovereign—this was not Qin Shuang’s first time. But to be a Sovereign and remain with his family, such a temptation surpassed even the allure of the Origin Spirit Pearl. Qin Shuang had refused the Origin Spirit Pearl precisely because becoming a Sovereign meant leaving his family. Now, even with the chance to be a Sovereign and remain with his loved ones, Qin Shuang refused once more.

“This is truly my son,” Qin Yu said with relief, patting his son’s shoulder. In fact, ever since Qin Shuang had refused the shortcut to Sovereignty, Qin Yu had known that his son would not wish to become a Sovereign in his universe.

“Father, besides this universe and your new universe, are there other universes?” Qin Shuang suddenly asked.

“Of course there are.” Before Qin Yu could answer, Qin Si interjected, “Counting Father’s universe, there are a total of three universes.”

“Yes, these three universes exist within a space called the Hongmeng Space, which is composed of Hongmeng energy,” Qin Yu explained to Qin Shuang in detail. “Your uncle, Hongmeng, was the first life born in this space, and he created the first universe: the Hongmeng Universe.

“A thousand Grand Epochs after the founding of the Hongmeng Universe, your second uncle, Linmeng, broke free of the Hongmeng Universe with his physical body and entered the Hongmeng Space. With your uncle Hongmeng’s help, he established the second universe—the Linmeng Universe. My Qinmeng Universe was born two Grand Epochs after the founding of the Linmeng Universe. Those who create universes in the Hongmeng Space are called Hongmeng Controllers.”

“Xiao Shuang, a single Grand Epoch is sixty quadrillion years,” Qin Si added from the side.

“It took over a thousand Grand Epochs before the second Controller appeared…” Qin Shuang’s eyes widened. “These Hongmeng Controllers must be terribly lonely, measuring time in Grand Epochs. Even now, there are only three Hongmeng Controllers.”

In just this short conversation, Qin Shuang was overwhelmed by the revelations. He had believed Sovereigns to be the highest existences, but now he knew that above Sovereigns were the Hongmeng Controllers.

Their family was in perfect harmony, and after a thousand years away, Qin Shuang once again felt the warmth of kinship. Qin Yu too, for the past few days, had gone nowhere, content just to be with his family.

What surprised Qin Shuang was that, ever since ascending to the Divine Realm, he had immediately reached the Lower Level Celestial Deity stage. Moreover, his cultivation, soul, and even comprehension of spatial laws were all advancing at a terrifying speed. At this rate, he would reach Middle Level Celestial Deity in just two or three months.

Ascending from the lower realm, undergoing the infusion of divine power for twelve hours, and then immediately reaching Lower Level Celestial Deity—followed by another two or three months to reach the middle stage. Such speed was unprecedented in the history of the Divine Realm.

“Xiao Shuang!” Qin Si pushed open Qin Shuang’s door and, seeing him meditating, sat down on a chair with a grin, watching his brother cultivate with great interest.

A moment later, Qin Shuang slowly opened his eyes. He had already sensed Qin Si’s arrival, but had been in the midst of breaking through to Middle Level Celestial Deity and could not be interrupted.

“Middle Level Celestial Deity!” Qin Si’s eyes shone. “You’ve only been ascended for less than three months, and you’re already at Middle Level Celestial Deity! That speed is frightening.”

Qin Shuang smiled shyly. “I don’t know why, but after drinking a cup of wine on Earth, I immediately triggered the Divine Tribulation. After ascending, I was already a Lower Level Celestial Deity, and my cultivation has been advancing rapidly. Even my comprehension of spatial laws is increasing at a tremendous pace.”

“Haha, no matter what, our Xiao Shuang is the most outstanding genius in the history of the Linmeng Divine Realm,” Qin Si laughed heartily.

“Brother…” Qin Shuang was helpless. The rapid progress in his cultivation was entirely due to that cup of wine, not because he was some heaven-defying genius.

“Xiao Shuang!” Qin Si lowered his voice mysteriously. “You’ve already reached Middle Level Celestial Deity, so don’t rush to cultivate further. I’ll take you somewhere.”

“Where…” Qin Shuang had barely asked when he found himself being whisked away by Qin Si.

“Brother, where are we going?” Qin Shuang asked in confusion as he flew through the air, keeping pace with Qin Si.

Qin Si grinned. “Don’t ask too much. You’ll know when we get there.”

In the far north of the Linmeng Divine Realm, farther than the Snowfall City of the Arctic, snow fell all year round, and the land was desolate. Even the Arctic Sage Emperor, Jiang Fan, would not willingly venture here.

“What are we doing here?” Qin Shuang couldn’t help but ask.

Qin Si smiled mysteriously. “Just follow me.” Passing through the perpetual snowscape, they came upon a vast ocean.

“This is the Northern Sea of the Divine Realm. There’s a massive island here,” Qin Si explained. “I went to great lengths to find it.”

After flying for half a year, Qin Shuang finally saw the island Qin Si had mentioned. It was immense, almost as large as Tulan Star of the Tianxin Realm. On the island, a few cities could be seen in the distance.

“Brother, what is this place…” Qin Shuang asked, not understanding why Qin Si had brought him here.

“Heh, haven’t you noticed the Divine Realm is missing some inhabitants?” Qin Si replied with a smile.

“In the Divine Realm, it seems there are few ascended divine beasts. Counting the native monsters, they make up only about twenty percent of all life in the Divine Realm. The rest are humans,” Qin Shuang mused, realizing that the beasts he’d seen in the lower realms were scarce here.

“This island is the world of the beasts. Humans are here too, but make up less than one percent.”

As they spoke, they descended onto the island.

Qin Si pointed proudly to a great mountain. “Xiao Shuang, this is your brother’s stronghold. To be honest, I’m a bandit here.”

“A… bandit?” Qin Shuang was utterly floored. “Brother, in the Zixuan Mansion, you have everything you could want. Why be a bandit here? Can you even rob a Sovereign Spirit Treasure?”

“Boom!” Qin Shuang got a knock on the head. “Brat, this is called living. What do you know? Don’t you get bored cultivating in the Zixuan Mansion all day?”

Qin Shuang rubbed his head, thinking it over. “It is boring, but being a bandit here would be boring too.”

Suddenly, the mountain trembled, and over a dozen people soared out.

They landed before Qin Si, all kneeling on one knee and saluting in unison: “Greetings, Great King!”

(To be continued)