Conceding Half a Stone to Heaven

"......" Within the dead silence of the secret chamber, Xu Xinyao stared in astonishment at her third brother, whose face remained dead serious. What did he mean by that? Under her gaze, Xu Yuan's expression did not waver in the slightest. On both sides of the bustling streets of the Imperial Capital, the crowds fell quiet as the carriage rolled down the roadway. Inside the Black Dragon carriage, Xu Changge frowned, his tone sharpening. "Changtian! What are you—" "......" Across from him, Xu Yinhe's expression remained unchanged. He made no move to speak, yet a subtle twitch of his fingers cut off the rest of Xu Changge's words. He had used qi. Even with Xu Changge's cultivation, he instantly felt a pressure like an immovable mountain crashing down upon him. Straining against the crushing weight, Xu Changge tried to speak, but he met Xu Yinhe's chilled, raptor-sharp gaze. Xu Changge's voice caught in his throat, replaced by a prolonged silence. Seeing this, Xu Yuan knew his father was granting him the opportunity to explain, so he continued of his own accord: "Father, records regarding Saints are scarce, but Luo Daofan once mentioned to me that if a Saint dies of old age—though it varies from person to person—most can live for around three sixty-year cycles. Can you still live that long?" "Heh." Xu Yinhe chuckled, his laughter slightly cold. "Your father still has a long life ahead of him. There is no need for you to be so impatient." "......" Xu Yuan was speechless. Those words carried immense weight. If this had been the imperial Li family, it would be the equivalent of the Crown Prince rushing into the sick Emperor's Hall of Mental Cultivation the moment an internal decision on succession had been made, impatiently asking: *Dad, with cultivation as high as yours, can you give me an exact date on when you're going to die?* If he weren't struck dead on the spot with a single palm strike, he would certainly become the third prince exiled to Heavenly Island. Xu Changge hesitated briefly before speaking up in defense. "Father, Changtian was only—" "Silence." Xu Yinhe shot a sideways glance at his eldest son. "Get out." "......" Xu Changge's green robes stirred slightly, but he obediently complied and stepped down from the carriage. The carriage door shut. After a brief pause, Xu Yinhe's voice softened slightly. "Xinyao, you as well. There are matters your father must speak of with your third brother in private." Xu Xinyao parted her lips, bit her lip, and lightly tugged at the corner of Xu Yuan's sleeve. Xu Yuan met her eyes, his gaze calm. Xu Xinyao left too. She knew their father was genuinely displeased. The departure of the two siblings left behind only silence between father and son. "......" After a long time, Xu Yuan lowered his gaze, his breathing as steady as before. "Father, I said from the very beginning that we should have Xu Changge and Xinyao step outside." Having said that, Xu Yuan rather hoped his father would curse him out or even give him a thrashing. Unfortunately, neither came. A long exhale sounded, followed by laughter. It began as a low chuckle before turning into hearty, unrestrained amusement. Xu Yinhe had forgotten how long it had been since he had laughed like this. He was genuinely pleased. Once he had laughed his fill, Xu Yinhe spoke, a faint trace of amusement lingering in his voice. "How did you figure it out?" "......" Hearing that, Xu Yuan kept his eyes downcast, his heart sinking to the very bottom. He had guessed correctly after all. Something truly had gone wrong with his father's body. "You are too rushed." Xu Yinhe tapped his fingers on the tea table before him. "Rushed about what?" "Everything. Everything you are doing right now is far too rushed. You are in a rush to groom me, and in a rush to move against the sects." "Go on." Xu Yinhe looked thoughtful. Xu Yuan took a deep breath, speaking in an unhurried, measured tone. "Earlier, you did not deny the plan to strike at the Sword Sect, which means the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's deduction of the future is almost certainly real. "A Saint has a lifespan of a hundred and eighty years. You are currently in the prime of your life, and under your leadership, the strength of the Chancellor's Manor has been flourishing day by day. Under the deliberate policies you enacted over the years, the sects' vigilance toward us has also been declining with each passing day. There is absolutely no need to strike in such haste." After a brief pause, seeing that Xu Yinhe had no intention of interrupting, Xu Yuan continued: "Second, you have been trying every means to groom a successor. First was Second Brother. Second Brother was capable of commanding Aunt Lou Ji and the others, but his cultivation was too weak. Eldest Brother's temperament dictates that he cannot shoulder such a heavy burden. He is a general, not a commander-in-chief. You saw that clearly. If the Chancellor's Manor were handed to Eldest Brother, it would most likely peak and then decline. "Third, you were far too impatient to test my capabilities. Forty thousand men of the Black Scale Army might make sense as chips for my first trial run, but that was also far too costly a stake. If time were abundant, you would have started me on smaller matters." Pausing, Xu Yuan asked bluntly once more: "So, Father, how much longer can you live?" "Heh." Chuckling softly, Xu Yinhe's tone was light and casual. "Rest assured. I will live at least until you marry, father children, and see those children grow up." "......" Xu Yuan showed not the slightest hint of joy at that answer. From getting married to having children, and then waiting for those children to grow up—how long would that take? Thirty years? And how long would it take to pacify the realm's sects and leave behind a peaceful world for future generations? Xu Yuan did not know, but he did know that in *Cangyuan*, many timelines spanned well over a decade, with the longest stretching across thirty years. This father of his was factoring the time needed to end the realm's turmoil entirely into the remainder of his life. With that thought, Xu Yuan murmured, "The timeframe is too tight." "Perhaps it is not so tight anymore," Xu Yinhe said. "......" Xu Yuan did not respond right away. Although that was what he had told his father on the surface, much of his deduction had been reverse-engineered from lore and various endings in *Cangyuan*. He still did not know how much capacity he truly had, or whether he could shoulder the entire Chancellor's Manor. Yet today's conversation would fundamentally alter the course of the future. From the sound of his father's words, he seemed prepared to continue biding his time and building strength in the shadows. "Phoo..." Exhaling a long breath, Xu Yuan asked in a low voice, "Is your condition due to poison from an enemy? Or an old injury?" He felt an immense weight of pressure. Rather than having to carry the burden himself, it was better to let this old man keep shouldering it. In *Cangyuan*, there had never been any mention of his father's health deteriorating. But if it were some bizarre poison of the world, or some lingering hidden injury, others might be helpless to cure it, but he might just have a way. Across those various worldlines, the protagonist and key figures had suffered countless strange poisons and injuries; there was bound to be a cure for one of them. After all, there were so many secret realms and hidden dungeons. Xu Yinhe smiled faintly upon hearing this. "Inborn. Incurable." "......" Xu Yuan fell silent. "Can you elaborate?" Xu Yinhe seemed to sense the pressure weighing on Xu Yuan. Instead of answering the question, he said with a soft chuckle: "Changtian, you do not need to heap so much pressure onto yourself. There is still some distance before we reach the bottom line of what your father can endure. What you do, your father will watch, and I will judge for myself." Seeing this, Xu Yuan knew his father would not go into detail anytime soon. He sighed and asked, "When is the final deadline?" The carriage came to a stop. The Chancellor's Manor stood magnificent and imposing. The middle-aged man with graying temples stepped slowly down from the carriage, speaking in a quiet voice as he walked: "The next Tianyuan Grand Tournament." Xu Yuan took a deep breath. "When that time comes, what if I am still not up to the task? But your body—" "Then your father shall concede half a stone to Heaven."