Top Grade Immortal Emperor in the Flower City

The second time Ning Guoqiang came out of the house, his face was pale, and his legs were somewhat shaky.

Following him was Li Chunyu, with a glow of health and significantly more energetic than before, even displaying the faintest traces of a newfound charm.

"What the heck, was that the Black Mountain demon or the Star Absorbing Technique? How come I feel like I've aged a dozen years and she's gotten younger?" Ning Guoqiang said through chattering teeth.

Just then, there was a sudden knocking at the door—thump, thump, thump—rather urgent.

Li Chunyu glanced at Ning Guoqiang, then up at the second floor, the message clear: what should we do, open it or not?

At this moment, Ye Ling, with a smirk on his face, swaggered out from a room upstairs, brimming with energy. Behind him, Ning Yushan blushed shyly.

Ning Guoqiang let out a deep sigh and shook his head: "Ah, us old folks just don't have the energy of the young ones."

"Though youth doesn't know the preciousness of 'that,' in old age we weep for 'that' in vain, huh. Some day I'll have to tell Yushan to drain him thoroughly, so he won't go out there having the time of his life," Ning Guoqiang grumbled, recalling his own unfair situation, a tragedy caused by Ye Ling.

Seeing this, Li Chunyu went ahead and opened the door. Outside stood a man around six feet tall, with a robust build and a sunny appearance, wearing glasses but with strabismic eyes looking askew to either side.

"Tianhao is here," Li Chunyu laughed as she saw the man standing at the door.

The guy outside was Li Tianhao, the son of Li Chunyu's elder brother, and they were quite close. Li Chunyu and Ning Guoqiang took good care of him.

"Auntie, how are you? Where's uncle?" Li Tianhao beamed cheerfully, his eyes glancing left and right.

Li Chunyu pointed abruptly, aiming about two meters to the right of Ning Guoqiang: "See there? Right there."

Li Tianhao immediately nodded: "Aye, uncle's spot is really hidden; I almost couldn't find you."

Ning Guoqiang sighed deeply. The guy was naturally cross-eyed; it would be a wonder if he could see him properly.

Li Tianhao walked straight up to a spot a little more than a meter from Ning Guoqiang, settled himself down, and looking at an empty space, he smiled: "Uncle, you seem to be off your game today, don't you?"

Ning Guoqiang dismissed him irritably, and Ye Ling on the second floor stared with eyes wide. Geez, this was too bizarre, carrying on a conversation with thin air while sitting on a stool?

"Don't worry about it, he's my cousin Li Tianhao. He's been strabismic since he was young, but he's a good person, just a bit superstitious – always claiming he has some special abilities and can cultivate spells," Ning Yushan said with a roll of her eyes.

Then the two of them walked down the stairs, and just as Ye Ling reached the first floor, Li Tianhao abruptly stood up, his expression growing serious.

"Which esteemed one is here? Show yourself now!" Li Tianhao stood his ground, gazing gravely towards the empty space to the right of where Ye Ling stood.

Ye Ling was somewhat puzzled as Li Chunyu hastily explained: "It's nothing, kid, Tianhao usually has this habit, plus he's strabismic, but he's really quite clever and nice."

"No worries, no worries, I can tell he's a bit cross-eyed," Ye Ling said amiably with a smile.

Yet Li Tianhao remained dead serious: "What kind of demon are you, and why does my uncle seem so dispirited? Could it be that you, demon, have sucked away my uncle's vitality?"

"I am right here, so reveal your true form at once or else I won't be polite!"

Li Tianhao was speaking when suddenly Ning Guoqiang smacked him hard on the head, cursing foully.

"You bastard, what's with all the talk, who said my vital energy and spirit aren't good? I'm fine, I could punch you to death, believe it or not? Stop spouting nonsense and bewitching people around me, talking about demonic cultivation and all that, blabber one more word and get the hell out!"

Ning Guoqiang's face was flushed with anger, he hadn't expected, oh, he hadn't expected, that he wouldn't be seen through by his daughter and son-in-law, but instead by a squint-eyed guy—how shameful, how embarrassing.

Yet Ye Ling looked quite solemn, as there wasn't a trace of spiritual power fluctuation coming from this guy, but he didn't seem to be talking nonsense either, which was really weird.

"Alright, Old Ning, you know what this kid is like, always spouting useless words. Why lower yourself to his level?" Li Chunyu hurriedly advised.

Li Tianhao looked aggrieved, his mouth twitching, "Uncle, I'm not lying, I really felt a vibrant spiritual power fluctuating around me, but I just can't see anyone."

"If you could see anyone that would be strange! Look two o'clock to your right, and tell me what that is!" Ning Guoqiang cursed unpleasantly.

A person with severe strabismus claiming he can't see someone because they are supernatural, are you joking with me? Enjoy exclusive content from empireNôv(el)B\\jnn

"Ah, cousin, who is this gentleman next to you?" Li Tianhao turned around and, seeing the man to the right of Ning Yushan, he said with some embarrassment.

Ning Yushan smiled lightly, "This is my boyfriend, Ye Ling."

"Ye Ling, nice to meet you. I'm Yushan's cousin, Li Tianhao. If I've offended you in any way, please accept my apologies." Li Tianhao said with a bright smile, extending his hand.

Ye Ling smiled and reached out his hand too, but he noticed that Li Tianhao was shaking the air up and down, repeating 'nice to meet you' over and over again.

However, Ye Ling immediately realized, strabismus, normal, understandable. But in Ye Ling's opinion, there must be something else wrong with him, not just his eyes.

"By the way, Tianhao, did you come here today for something?" Li Chunyu asked softly.

Li Tianhao's expression became a bit more serious, "I came to see Uncle for a reason."

"What's up, spit it out," Ning Guoqiang said irritably, as he took a bite of his food.

"These past few days, I've been observing the stars and divined a reading. This reading is an omen of misfortune. Something big is certain to happen in Donghai City today, and with the evil star entering from the west, it definitely involves foreign powers with supernatural abilities. I think it would be best for Uncle to prepare early, otherwise, when the time comes, chaos will surely ensue," Li Tianhao said gravely.

Ye Ling was taken aback, this guy had a point. The evil star entering from the west—wasn't that those supernatural forces from the west?

Ning Guoqiang was also stunned; this was confidential information. In the whole of Donghai City, there were only a handful of leaders who were privy to this information. How did this guy know about it?

"Who told you this?" Ning Guoqiang asked incredulously.

Li Tianhao shook his head, "Uncle, I really figured it out myself. Didn't I tell you before? I am a descendant of the Tianji Sect. I can divine readings."

Ning Guoqiang was clearly dismissive, "Tianji Sect, never heard of it," though he did know about the Frog Sect.

But Ye Ling took it more seriously, of course, he had heard of the Tianji Sect. From what Zang Hua and Shen Yuexin told him, this Tianji Sect had quite a background.

The Tianji Sect, with its lineage from Shangqiu's Huoshen Terrace in Zhongyuan Province, saw its descendants mostly born with various imperfections. Yet, in the realm of spellcasting, they possessed astonishing talents.