I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

A golden star emerged from the star map, hovering directly above the landmark of the Demon Realm, slowly rotating.

The moment Tianxing's fingertip touched it, Venus exploded.

Countless words emerged from it, lining up in mid-air, with golden characters appearing one line at a time.

Xu Nanyi stood on tiptoe and squinted to make out the details—

Three days ago, Li Mo, the Lord of the Demon Realm, died suddenly in the palace; the cause of death is unknown.

[The Demon Realm is in turmoil, with various factions stirring and order on the verge of collapse.]

[Task 1: Investigate the cause of the Demon Lord's sudden death, quell the turmoil in the Demon Realm, restore order, and enthrone a new Demon Lord—Shen Jiuyuan]

[Mission Two: Bring back the fifth-generation guardians, Shi Ming and Wu Qiyue.]

[Task Reward: 10,000 Merit Points for solo players!]

Lin Qingyue gasped. Normally, this task only yielded a thousand merit points. It seemed like something was wrong this time!

One by one, the previously silent golden names on the merit list ignited with light—Xu Yuan, Lin Qingyue, Tian Xing.

Immediately afterwards, the ancient rune pattern on the top merit mark of the merit list suddenly burst forth with dazzling light.

Xu Nanyi instinctively covered her eyes.

Three streaks of light flew out from the radiance, each one identical to the rune, small and exquisite.

It landed on Xu Nanyi, Shen Jiuyuan, and Shen Xizhou.

Xu Nanyi glanced down and saw the outline of the rune flash across the back of her hand before disappearing without a trace.

Three new names appeared on the merit list, ranking at the very end.

Xu Nanyi's merit points: 0.

Shen Jiuyuan's merit points: 0.

Shen Xizhou's merit points: 0.

Three bare zeros, sitting in a row.

Xu Nanyi stared at her own zero for two seconds, then looked at the number at the top of the merit list.

Six digits.

Xu Nanyi silently turned her head back.

...Never mind, I won't watch it, it'll ruin my mood.

The mission text slowly dissipated, the golden stars returned to calm, and the star map reverted to its original azure appearance.

Tianxing floated over to Shen Jiuyuan's side, put an arm around his shoulder, and said casually, "Not bad, bro!"

He raised an eyebrow and patted Shen Jiuyuan's chest. "The future Demon Lord!"

Tianxing leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said solemnly, "If I become rich and powerful, don't forget me!"

Shen Jiuyuan turned his head to look at him, "What kind of pipe dream are you having?"

He reached out and lifted Tianxing's hand off his shoulder, throwing it aside. "You should be thanking God and begging for mercy for not tearing you to pieces."

Tianxing withdrew his hand, and his lips twitched.

"Tsk! You can't even get a compliment, but you get all cocky as soon as you are."

He crossed his arms, complaining, but discreetly took a half-step back.

Shen Xizhou asked in a low voice, "Sister, why is the Old Demon Lord's surname Li, and Father's surname Shen?"

Xu Nanyi thought for a moment, then lowered her voice as well: "Is it possible... that my grandmother's surname is Shen?"

Shen Xizhou's eyes lit up: "Then does that mean I'm carrying on my grandmother's family line?"

Xu Nanyi nodded seriously: "I guess so."

"Then I'm so filial." Shen Xizhou patted his chest with satisfaction.

A soft cough came from behind me.

Shen Jiuyuan had somehow gotten behind the two kids, looking down at the brother and sister who were talking nonsense.

"It's also because you two started discussing this."

Xu Nanyi and Shen Xizhou both shut up at the same time, looked up at him and gave him an innocent, almost unreal smile.

Lin Qingyue spoke up at the right time, bringing the atmosphere back on track from the "family ethics discussion".

"Now that the mission has been assigned, let's set off. It's a good opportunity to familiarize the fifth-generation juniors with our method of accumulating merit, and also to recognize some people along the way."

She glanced at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan nodded, without saying a word.

The group filed out of the altar and unleashed their respective flying magical artifacts one by one.

Xu Yuan wielded the Sunset Divine Bow, Lin Qingyue the Silver Frost Spear, and Tianxing stood directly on a folding fan, which, when unfolded, was wider than him, making him look quite flamboyant.

Xu Nanyi sat on the Sunset Divine Bow, which had transformed into a small golden cloud, just as she was about to take off, a bamboo stalk floated down from directly in front of her.

The person on the bamboo wore a long green robe and had snow-white hair that fluttered lightly in the wind along with the robe.

He had a dark green gauze covering his eyes, and his hands were folded and placed on his abdomen, his posture as relaxed as if he had been disturbed during his afternoon nap.

As the bamboo drifted closer, the person suddenly sat up. Although the gauze covered his eyes, Xu Nanyi could feel that the other person's attention was precisely focused on their group.

"Little Qingyue, are you going on another mission?"

Lin Qingyue's eyes lit up, "Master!"

Xu Nanyi's ears perked up immediately.

Master?! That would be her grandmaster, wouldn't it?!

She stared wide-eyed at the white-haired man sitting on the bamboo.

Ying Shixue sat on the bamboo, but her senses, hidden beneath the gauze, were sharper than anyone else's eyesight.

He "looked" at the little guy who had been staring at him.

The aura was strange.

This child's cultivation level... is above everyone else present?

He tilted his head slightly. This little girl was actually related to Xiao Yuanyuan by blood! And... a blessing from heaven!

Ying Shixue let out a soft "hmm" and pointed in Xu Nanyi's direction.

"This little guy... is he a fifth-generation disciple?"

Xu Yuan nodded, turned around and nudged Xu Nanyi from behind, pushing her forward a step.

"Go and greet Senior Ying."

Xu Nanyi stumbled slightly from the push, looked up to meet the gentle gaze of the face that could be felt even through the gauze, and respectfully clasped her hands in a fist salute.

"Greetings, Senior!"

Ying Shixue smiled slightly and tilted her head, her gaze behind the gauze seeming to be carefully "looking" at her.

He smiled, like a drop of dew rolling off the tip of a bamboo leaf.

"interesting."

He didn't retract his raised hand, but instead lightly pointed his fingertips at Xu Nanyi.

"That thing on your body—"

Ying Shixue sat on the bamboo, her lips slightly curved beneath the gauze.

"well."

He raised one hand, his slender fingertips reaching towards Xu Nanyi.

Xu Nanyi did not dodge.

For some reason, she felt an instinctive lack of defensiveness when facing this person, as if the gaze behind the gauze naturally carried something relaxing.

He gently touched her brow with his fingertip.

The "Heavenly Blessing" that had been quietly dormant within Xu Nanyi's body suddenly twitched, flashing a light so subtle it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Ying Shixue paused for a moment, but Xu Nanyi noticed.

On that face covered by gauze, the expression changed from easygoing to a subtle contemplation.

Xu Nanyi's heart skipped a beat.

What did he discover?

Ying Shixue didn't explain, but just tilted her head, as if she was "looking" at something invisible to the naked eye.

Blessed by Heaven, passed down through generations.

The master passed it on to the disciple, and the disciple passed it on to the disciple.

Each owner infuses their own fortune into it, layering and accumulating over generations.

And that one on this little girl's body—

Carrying the good fortune of Xiao Qingyue.

Not the present-day Xiao Qingyue... but the future one.

They were from the future.