Chapter 601 - Charming Mother: Sun Ling
With the possibility of becoming more handsome, beautiful, and with the possibility of bringing the body to its prime, it had become incredibly difficult to know exactly how old the other party was. At first, this was not such a big change since mankind on Earth was just starting to evolve, but because the world they lived in was so anomalous, humans were also forced to evolve faster just like the other races for the sake of survival.
As a consequence, the purity and amount of Soul Power of several of the existences that managed to survive this far by fighting and not being protected had definitely reached a stage where even a middle-aged person could easily look like a young man of around 30.
The reason the mother of Wu Yijun looked so young was clearly because she was a considerably powerful soul evolver. After all, while she must surely be a beauty considering how beautiful Wu Yijun was even before she evolved, Bai Zemin refused to believe that a woman could keep her face as young as a woman around 29-30 years old.
Therefore, the father of Wu Yijun was also no different from her mother in this respect.
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone in the room was moved by the mother-daughter reunion, and taking advantage of Wu Keqian smiling warmly as his eyes filled with tenderness at the touching hug between the two, Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes slightly and analyzed him.
Wu Keqian was a man who for Asian genetics could be considered tall reaching around 1.75 meters, only around 5 centimeters less than Bai Zemin. His body was quite slender and his face was definitely handsome enough to be comparable to Chen He before the latter evolved too much. Soft and friendly eyes but with a tinge of coldness flashing occasionally and brown hair pulled back in a bun at the back of his head.
But the most striking thing from Bai Zemin's point of view was Wu Keqian's aura. He subconsciously looked at Shangguan Bing Xue, and by coincidence of fate or not, she was also looking at him.
The two saw the flash of surprise shine for an instant in each other's eyes before they both acted as if nothing had happened.
"Second Order? This human definitely must have had some luck... Unfortunately, he chose classes that were too weak for the sake of advancing faster through the ranks. It really is a pity, he threw away his future for the sake of having immediate power." Lilith's voice sounded somewhat regretful but also a bit disdainful in Bai Zemin's head.
The more difficult the path one chose to walk, the harder it was to force oneself through the gate. However, when you managed to step onto that path, the future would become more and more steady as the path would become wider and wider, which would also increase your view of the front.
On the other hand, when you took an easy path, you would definitely be able to open the door to the next one far more easily. However, every door you opened would lead to an unstable, slim path in which you would not necessarily find a door at the end but might find a sad dead end.
Perhaps feeling his gaze upon him, Wu Keqian blinked and his face moved in Bai Zemin's direction.
Bai Zemin nodded politely with a faint smile on his face and in response Wu Yijun's father also nodded but with a tinge of surprise on his face.
Wu Keqian did not interrupt the mother-daughter meeting and although he wanted very much to hug his daughter he waited for his moment. Instead, he approached the group of six who had already stood up and watched them one by one.
"Chen He, boy... You really have become powerful." Wu Keqian patted Chen He's shoulder and chuckled as he honestly praised, "I'm really glad to see you safe and sound. Part of me believed that your righteousness would drag you down while another part of me was sure that someone as talented and capable as you wouldn't fall so easily."
Chen He felt a little embarrassed as if it were not for the fact that he was in the company of people who saw the bigger picture his own kindness would definitely have dragged him down just as Wu Yijun's father had just said.
"Uncle Wu, it's all because I had very skillful and capable people by my side." Chen He said a bit awkwardly.
Wu Keqian laughed and after patting Chen He's shoulder hard his eyes fell on Shangguan Bing Xue. The man looked at her carefully, and after a couple of seconds of silence, he couldn't help but sigh and shook his head, "Bing Xue, you, girl.... The last time I saw you was half a year ago and you were already beautiful as a fairy. But now... Sigh.... I really don't know how those brats will react when they see you."
Shangguan Bing Xue simply smiled slightly but her expression was as cold as ever as she bowed slightly and said in a voice a hint more gentle than usual, "Uncle Wu, it's good that you're doing well."
"I see some things never change." Wu Keqian chuckled and shook his head.
He was already used to Shangguan Bing Xue's natural coldness so he was not offended at all, after all, Shangguan Bing Xue was like a real niece to him given how close she was with his daughter.
"But..." Wu Keqian frowned slightly and looked at Shangguan Bing Xue with confusion, "Bing Xue, child. Why can't I sense your aura? I can sense that Chen He is somewhere around level 40 but I can't sense your aura at all. Have you broken through to the Second Order?"
Wu Keqian's last words were spoken in surprise and hope. His surprise came from the fact that he did not expect that the beautiful young woman in front of him whom he had seen grow up in different stages of her life could reach such a level of power so quickly while his hope came from the fact that if Shangguan Bing Xue really had reached that level, then his faction would be gaining another annihilation level powerhouse!
The faction China Renaissance categorized Second Order creatures as annihilation level because these existences possessed the power to annihilate a human camp with ease unless that camp had a large amount of concentrated firepower to limit the enemy's movements and hit that enemy.
Considering his daughter Wu Yijun's friendship with Shangguan Bing Xue and how close his entire family was to her, Wu Keqian did not need to doubt her loyalty.
However, Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head slowly and said calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I am yet in the First Order. The reason why Uncle Wu can't feel my aura is because I have a skill that allows me to restrict it."
Shangguan Bing Xue could not simply say that the reason why Wu Keqian was not able to feel her aura was because although his level was higher than hers, Shangguan Bing Xue's Soul Power was more than a few times purer so Wu Keqian's Soul Power had no way of sensing anything beyond its plane.
"Oh... That makes sense." Wu Keqian sighed a little disappointed but also a little relieved to hear Shangguan Bing Xue's words.
"This friend over there, may I know your name? This old man's name is Wu Keqian." Wu Yijun's father suddenly looked at Bai Zemin and nodded in a friendly manner.
"Elder Wu, how are you? My name is Bai Zemin." He responded with a polite smile as he nodded slightly in greeting.
So far, the impression Bai Zemin had about Wu Keqian was quite good as the man hadn't even announced his status with arrogance or anything like that. However, this was only an initial impression as he not only needed to study whether the man in front of him was a ruler as competent as his foresight and also how ambitious or proud he was. Therefore, Bai Zemin needed time and to observe more closely to know better what to do later.
"Bai Zemin? That's a good name." Wu Keqian nodded before waving his hand and saying casually, "But don't call me Elder Wu, since you are my daughter's friend just call me Uncle Wu."
"Uncle Wu." Bai Zemin nodded and chuckled.
"Good guy!" Wu Keqian gave Bai Zemin a thumbs up and looked at him with appreciative eyes as he said, "A young man like you doesn't need to pause too much on ceremonies. As my father always said, if you want respect you must first respect, age is just a number!"
Wu Keqian looked at the others and said with a carefree smile, "You all don't need to be too strict either. Since you are all my daughter's friends, you can call me Uncle Wu too!"
'What a cunning and dangerous man.' Bai Zemin's eyes flashed uncharacteristically as he kept the friendly smile on his face.
Just as Shangguan Bing Xue had described him a day ago: kind, ambitious, talented, and smart. Bai Zemin realized the kind of person Wu Keqian was only after exchanging a few words.
The reason why Wu Keqian acted so friendly was probably not only because everyone present had close relationships with Wu Yijun, but his main reason was probably because as a Second Order existence he could sense how powerful Cai Jingyi, Zhong De, and Nangong Lingxin were. Even if Wu Keqian was currently a powerful soul evolver, in the past he was a very talented politician so he naturally knew the need to make strong relationships!
As for why Wu Keqian asked Shangguan Bing Xue about the matter of not being able to sense her aura instead of asking the same question to Bai Zemin was probably because he took advantage of the closeness between the two of them to obtain information. After all, it would be frowned upon if he suddenly asked such a personal question like that to a friend of his daughter whom he barely knew.
"I think the cunning and dangerous man inside this room is you if you ask me! Who ever notices so many things so quickly other than a cunning and dangerous man? You look like an old fox instead of a young man in his twenties." Lilith remarked in his head.
"Father!"
Suddenly, Wu Yijun's voice sounded inside the room and when Wu Keqian turned around he barely had time to open his arms and welcome the beautiful young girl who flew into his arms like a little bird coming home.
"Brat, you finally remember that apart from your mother you have a father?" Wu Keqian laughed out loud and even though he tried to hide his emotion his trembling voice gave him away.
As Wu Yijun sobbed and let all her fears and grievances out, Wu Keqian stopped laughing and sighed.
"You did well to come back.... You did well to come back." He stroked his daughter's silky hair while his other hand hugged her back tightly as if he feared life would take her away.
As the father-daughter duo hugged and released the tension they held back for two and a half months, Wu Yiijun's mother that had already wiped away her tears approached the group of six with a beautiful smile on her charming face.
Then, she bowed and closed her eyes as she said in a dignified voice, "Thank you all so much for helping our daughter get this far. My name is Sun Ling, Yijun's mother. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to tell me, I and my husband will do our best to help you."
Chen He and Zhong De were once again stunned as they stared at Sun Ling intently.
Now that the woman had bowed, her seductive body had become more prominent as her dress tightened tightly at every curve to fit the new posture; especially the rear end which looked especially salient.
When Sun Ling straightened her posture, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she saw the two young men in front of her gawking at her. She naturally felt praised but also dumbfounded that that innocent and shy young man Chen He had actually become this impudent.
Bai Zemin admitted in his heart that the woman in front of him was not only beautiful but as a mature woman her charm was beyond what a young woman could present. However, for someone like him who had been under the influence of someone like Lilith whose charm simply had no parallel, Sun Ling was not worth mentioning at all.
Besides, even he began to feel embarrassed when he saw how Chen He and Zhong De looked at Wu Yijun's mother. Especially when it came to Chen He, Bai Zemin really wanted to ask him if he was aware that the woman he was looking at like that was the mother of his childhood friend.
Pa!
Pa!
Two slaps sounded inside the room and both Zhong De and Chen He automatically brought their hands behind their heads as they looked at the culprit with bitter eyes.
"That's why all men are no good." Cai Jingyi snorted and took out a handkerchief before wiping her hands as if she was afraid of catching the perverted disease from those two. Then, she noticed that she said something wrong so quickly looked at Bai Zemin and said with a chuckle, "Of course, our great Bai Zemin is the exception to the rule."
Our great Bai Zemin? When those words came out of Cai Jingyi's mouth, the person in question could not help but cough uncontrollably and his face turned red as he looked at her in disbelief.
This woman... Wasn't she taking things too lightly? Even when it had been Bai Zemin himself who had ordered them to treat him as just another friend and not as the Leader of the Transcendent faction for most of this operation!
However, Cai Jingyi naturally had her reasons for doing what she did.
Indeed.
Sun Ling covered her mouth with one hand and giggled, causing her upper assets which were even more magnificent than her daughter's to shake constantly. Her giggling, her movements, her every gesture.... Everything was full of natural seductive charm, completely the opposite of her pure and innocent daughter.
"All of you are not only powerful warriors even though you were probably just students in the past but you still keep that youthful spark within you." Sun Ling said with a beautiful smile on her face. "I'm glad my daughter was able to make wonderful friends like you all along the journey."
Cai Jingyi's words not only served to lighten the uncomfortable atmosphere that was developing because of Chen He and Zhong De but also served to give Wu Yijun's mother an overall good first impression of all of them.
Be that as it may, Bai Zemin would not be Bai Zemin if he passed up this opportunity now that all the requirements had aligned perfectly.
"Aunt Sun, in fact, there is something I would like you and Uncle Wu to help me with."
Wu Keqian was also paying attention to the conversation so his curious eyes fell on Bai Zemin immediately when he heard his words.
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+2600 words...
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