Cultivation Online

After Yuan left, Ren Xia turned to face Yu Ning and said, “Wait here for a bit. I have to take this idiot somewhere.”

She gestured at Kulas, who stared at her with a frown.

“You really need to fix how you address me. I was once an Emperor, you kn—”

“Shut up, you big idiot, and follow me.”

Without giving him any explanation, Ren Xia turned around and began flying away.

Kulas wanted to rebel and stay behind, but something in his guts warned him that he’d regret it, so he begrudgingly followed her.

However, without any cultivation, he was unable to fly and had to travel on foot. Fortunately, his powerful physique allowed each step to propel him forward like a missile, enabling him to keep up with Ren Xia without too much difficulty.

Of course, Ren Xia could have easily carried him using her spiritual energy, but she decided to let him run instead.

Moreover, Ren Xia’s speed would occasionally speed up, forcing Kulas to put in more effort.

“Hey! Where the hell are you taking me in this empty world?!” Kulas asked her after running nonstop for a few hours.

“Empty world? You speak as if you know this place at the back of your hands,” Ren Xia sneered. Kulas gritted his teeth and continued following her.

One hour… Six hours… Twelve hours…

In the blink of an eye, the two of them had been traveling for three days without rest. Even for someone like Kulas, he was starting to feel the fatigue.

“You know I just regained my body after spending countless years as a soul, right? How can you make someone like me run like this? You’re much more sadistic than before!” Kulas cried out loud.

“Consider this part of your training. A warm-up before the real thing,” she calmly replied before going silent again.

After another four days, an entire week since Kulas started running, he started slowing down, and eventually, came to a complete stop.

Seeing this, before Kulas could even complain, Ren Xia spoke, “We can stop here, turn around, and return home to begin your training if that’s what you want, but you’ll regret not doing this.”

“…”

Kulas silently glared at Ren Xia, who met his gaze with an uncharacteristically serious expression. He knew she loved to toy with him, but this didn’t feel like one of those times.

After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and, without any words, started running after her again.

Ren Xia didn’t say anything either and continued to follow her route.

After nearly another week of traveling, Kulas finally noticed a change in the scenery—the faint outline of buildings rising along the horizon.

At first, he thought Ren Xia had made him run a full lap around the world and was on the verge of bursting in anger. But when he realized there were far more buildings than before, he restrained himself and even picked up his pace.

When he drew close enough to make out figures—silhouettes standing in neat rows, as if waiting for something—Kulas’s eyes widened.

‘One… two… three…’

He began counting them subconsciously. And when their faces finally came into view, tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Father!” One of these figures cried out loud.

When that familiar voice echoed in Kulas’s mind, every trace of fatigue vanished like smoke. His speed exploded in an instant, and he shot forward like a flying sword, arriving before the group of women who were all staring at him with tearful eyes.

“Y-You…”

Kulas was at a loss for words. The women standing before him were none other than his own family—the ones who had chosen to leave the Giant Palace with Tian Yang before he lost control.

“You’re all still alive…?” he muttered in a daze, unable to believe his eyes. He had never dared to hope they had survived, and they looked exactly as he remembered, as though the passage of time did not affect them.

“T-This is not an illusion, right? Ren Xia, I swear, if you—”

Kulas was cut off when one of the women suddenly lunged at him, wrapping him in a tight embrace—one so firm and warm that it erased any lingering doubt that they were real.

“Chao Shuying…” Kulas mumbled the name of the woman hugging him, who was none other than one of his wives.

It wasn’t long before the others rushed in as well, surrounding him and pulling him into a trembling, tearful group embrace.

After enjoying their reunion, Kulas spoke, asking them in a worried voice, “My rampage during the war didn’t affect any of you, right?”

“No, Zaaran’s influence couldn’t reach us in this place, so we were all unaffected,” said Chao Shuying.

“I see… thank the heavens…” Kulas sighed.

He looked at them, tears streaming down his face, and spoke in a trembling voice. “I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry for failing to protect you. I failed as a ruler, as a husband, and as a father.”

“Don’t shoulder all the blame alone,” Chao Shuying said gently, cupping his tear-streaked face with her soft hand. “Every single one of us here has failed in one way or another. What’s done is done. All we can do now is move forward—and make sure we don’t repeat our mistakes.”

Kulas nodded, “I swear that I will protect all of you properly this time.”

Once they calmed down, Ren Xia descended before them and said, “Aren’t you glad you followed me? Had you given up and returned, you would’ve left them waiting for you for even longer.”

Kulas glared at her. “Why didn’t you tell me we were going to meet my family? And what would’ve happened if I gave up?”

Ren Xia shrugged as though it were none of her concern. “Are you sure you would’ve preferred that? If I had told you earlier, you would’ve doubted me the entire way here. Besides, this wasn’t my idea—it was theirs.”

“And had you given up… you wouldn’t have the reunion until after you finished your training,” she added with a cold smile.