"Qiuâer."
"Ahh!" Yun Jingqiu yelped as she jumped in surprise. "You startled me, Father."
Ling Yun raised an eyebrow as he saw a beast core in his daughterâs hand. "Is that a beast core? From its quality, I can guess it came from a powerful beast with strength in the Three Immortal Realms, so you couldnât possibly have killed the beast yourself. Yue Lian is strong, but I doubt she can kill the beast with her current strength."
"Father, this beast core was a gift from Senior Brother Zhao Chengxuan." Yun Jingqiu replied haltingly. "He got it from his father, and he gave it to me as a gift."
"Hmm?" Ling Yun approached his daughter and took the beast core from her hand. "An Immortal Emperor Rank Beast, huh? Does Zhao Chengxuan know your identity as the dark phoenix?"
Yun Jingqiu shook her head. "He knew I was a female beast, but I never told him that I was a dark phoenix. You often told me not to tell others about my beast identity, so I kept it to myself."
"Thatâs good." Ling Yun felt relieved to hear that. "Qiuâer, the dark phoenix race has long been extinct from this universe, and I used my demon creation technique to transform your mother into a demon, but I didnât expect that she would transform into a dark phoenix. If people find out your beast identity, they will do everything they can to capture you, and they will forcefully contract you, so you must carefully conceal your identity. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Father."
Ling Yun sat on the bed, pulling Yun Jingqiu to sit beside him. "Tell me about Zhao Chengxuan, Qiuâer. Is he a good man? Do you like him? Whatâs his Zhao Clan like?"
"Father, Senior Brother Zhao is actually a good man, and Iâve met his parents before. However, I never liked him, and I rejected him three times, but he never gave up and continued to court me." Yun Jinqiu pointed to the beast core. "He gave it to me when he confessed his feelings to me for the fourth time, but I rejected him again. I wanted to return it to him, but he refused and told me to keep it."
"Summon Yue Lian out now." Yun Jingqiu immediately carried out Ling Yunâs orders. "Have you met Zhao Chengxuan before?"
Yue Lian nodded. "Zhao Chengxuanâs cultivation is at the Immortal King Realm, and his two parentsâs cultivation is at the Immortal Emperor Realm. His parents treated my master well, and they never showed any particular motives towards him. In fact, they once persuaded my master to accept their son, but she insisted on refusing him, and they did not force him."
"Show me their pictures." Yue Lian created a qi screen that showed a picture of Zhao Chengxuan and his parents. "Hmm? That man doesnât look bad; instead, heâs quite handsome and polite. His parents donât look arrogant, and they seem to adore Qiuâer very much."
Yun Jingqiu looked at Ling Yun. "Father, I have no feelings for Senior Brother Zhao, so you shouldnât think about setting me up with him."
"Haha," Ling Yun rubbed his daughterâs head. "Do you think Iâm that kind of father, Qiuâer?"
"No." Yun Jingqiu shook her head.
"In my opinion, Zhao Chengxuan isnât bad, but I have no intention of setting you up with him. Youâre an adult now, so you should determine your own future, and I will always respect your decision." Yun Jingqiu patted her chest in relief. "I wonât interfere in the romantic affairs of any of my children, and you guys can choose the right partners for yourselves."
"Thank you, Father."
Ling Yun nodded as he patted his daughterâs head. "Even though I will never interfere in your choices, I hope you will bring the man of your choice to our residence, and we will check whether his character is good or not."
"I will never bring any man into our residence, Father." Yun Jingqiu lowered her sad face. "I already have a man I love, but he never loved me, so I will never marry for the rest of my life."
Yue Lian didnât say anything, but she had long known that the man Yun Jingqiu loved was Ling Yun, and she couldnât look at any other man besides him.
Ling Yun could only sigh in his heart because he realized that Yun Jingqiuâs feelings for him were too deep, and he had a headache to change her feelings. His relationship had been chaotic for a long time, especially after he took Yi Mingxia and the others as his wives. However, he never thought about accepting his daughterâs feelings, let alone taking her as his wife. "Qiuâer-"
"Please donât say anything, Father," Yun Jingqiu interrupted Ling Yun with teary eyes. "Rejecting me is your choice, but loving you is mine. I only love you, and my feelings for you will remain the same until the end of time. I will never regret my decision, and I choose to live in solitude rather than love another man."
Ling Yun pulled Yun Jingqiu into his arms, hugging her tightly. "Qiuâer, you are my daughter, and I will always love you. However, I will never be able to love you as a woman, so I apologize for my stubbornness."
"Sob." Tears welled up in Yun Jingqiuâs eyes as she hugged Ling Yun tightly. "Sob."
Yue Lian sighed inwardly and left the room, leaving Ling Yun and Yun Jingqiu alone. She hoped that he would accept his daughterâs feelings the same way he accepted his mother and the others as his wives, but his words just now made her realize it would never happen.
After she cried for some time, Yun Jingqiu broke free from Ling Yunâs embrace. "Please leave me alone, Father. I want to be alone for now."
"Alright."
After Ling Yun disappeared, Yun Jingqiu lay down on her bed, curled up, hugged her knees, and cried again. "Father, you know that I love you so much, but you wonât accept my feelings."
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"Why is your expression like this?" Jin Nanyi asked Ling Yun, who had just entered the void walls.
"Iâve hurt my eldest daughterâs feelings." Jin Nanyi was shocked when Ling Yun said that. "Unlike my other daughters, Qiuâer and Xiaâer love me very much, but they love me as a man. However, I cannot accept their feelings, and it is inevitable that I will hurt their feelings."
Jin Nanyi sat beside Ling Yun. "Why canât you accept the feelings of your two daughters? After all, your grandmother, your mother, your big sister, and your two aunts are your wives, right?"
"Yeah," Ling Yun nodded to Jin Nanyi. "They are my wives, but thereâs something inside me that makes me unable to accept my two daughtersâ feelings."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I donât know." Ling Yun shook his head slightly. "Every time I think about my two daughtersâ feelings, thereâs something inside me that pushes me to reject them."
"Thatâs weird." Jin Nanyi propped her chin. "Have you ever felt that way towards your mother and the others?"
Ling Yun shook his head again. "You know that Iâve loved my mother since I was little, so I didnât experience that kind of feeling when I took her as my wife, and it didnât arise when I took Lingâer and the others either."
"Are you going to let your two daughtersâ feelings get hurt?"
"I had no other choice." Ling Yun looked at Jin Nanyi. "I knew they would be sad, but I really couldnât accept their feelings. I wanted them to find the right men to be their husbands, but they chose to live in solitude. I didnât want them to be like that, but I didnât have a solution for them."
"Just accept their feelings."
"No," Ling Yun firmly refused. "I will never accept their feelings, even if they have to feel sad like that. They may not be able to accept my decision now, but they should be able to understand it when theyâre older."
"Stupid!" Jin Nanyi cursed at Ling Yun. "Your two daughters are already over thirty years old, so they are already mature women. Iâm not close to them, but Iâm a woman like them. Since theyâve already said they love you, and they even chose to live in solitude because of your rejection, Iâm sure their feelings for you will never change. Besides, Iâve experienced living in solitude before I met you, so I can understand their feelings. Do you really want them to live like that for the rest of their lives?"
Ling Yun released a heavy sigh. "If they choose that way, then let them be."
"Tch!" Jin Nanyi gritted her teeth. "Get lost! You are such an idiot! I donât want to see you now!"
"Fine." Ling Yun immediately disappeared from Jin Nanyiâs sight.
Jin Nanyi was even angry because Ling Yun disappeared straight away. "He is so selfish and an idiot! He took his mother and others as his wives, but he chose to hurt the feelings of his two daughters!"
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"Father," Yun Qingfeng and Yun Longhun called out in surprise.
Ling Yun nodded to his two sons. "How are your preparations for the competition? Are you guys ready to face the cultivators who will also be participating?"
"Hehe," Yun Qingfeng rubbed his nose. "Father, our opponents in the competition will be matched to our cultivation levels, and Iâm sure we wonât lose to them."
"How about you accompany the two of us to practice, Father?" Yun Longhun asked.
"Letâs spar! I will test the progress of both of you myself."