Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Before long, Ah Xing arrived at the Tian Tong Cathedral. Several clergy members he met along the way greeted him warmly.

It turns out that Wang Ai had already formally informed the entire church about Ah Xing's promotion to "Grand Protector" of the apologetics department.

Initially, some of the more senior members of the church had reservations about this, feeling that Ah Xing was just a newcomer who had only recently "attained Qi," and even if he was exceptionally talented, what right did he have to be superior to them?
However, before these doubts could ferment, news spread that Ah Xing, under the name of "the righteous messenger of the Tian Tong Church," had single-handedly swept through major gangs in Shanghai and restored order to the underground world.

These concrete achievements are more convincing than any words, instantly silencing all dissent and doubt. The strong earn respect wherever they are.

Ah Xing did not become arrogant because of his change in status. He responded to his colleagues' greetings one by one and even made a few harmless jokes.

After a brief exchange, Ah Xing walked through the crowd and entered the main hall of the cathedral.

His gaze immediately fell upon the towering statue of the Heavenly Tong Sect Master.

However, he was stunned in place after just one glance.

It wasn't just because the statue's appearance was almost identical to the giant who had imparted his power to him in his dream. It was also because he keenly sensed that this statue seemed somewhat different from the ones he had seen before.

In the past, every time he came to the church and stood silently in front of the statue to pray, he could vaguely feel a majestic aura, like the awe-inspiring power of heaven.

After he attained Qi, this sensation became even clearer, as if a living deity was sleeping inside the statue.

Today, although the statue in front of me is still tall and majestic, the awe-inspiring "divine might" has disappeared.

"What happened? Why is this happening?" A-Xing was filled with doubts.

Immediately, he recalled the inexplicable palpitation he had felt while practicing his martial arts that morning, as well as the sudden thunder and lightning that appeared over the parish.

"Could it be... related to the strange celestial phenomena of that time?"

"Furthermore, not long after that, I received the cult leader's power transmission in a dream. Is there any connection between that and me?"

"Has something huge happened to the church that I'm unaware of?"

Ah Xing muttered to himself, and involuntarily took a step forward, walking closer to the statue.

Suddenly, he keenly sensed a very subtle energy fluctuation inside the statue!

As if guided by some unseen force, Ah Xing reached out and gently touched the base of the statue.

The instant their fingertips touched, a sudden change occurred!

A faint blue light, as if it had a life of its own, instantly spread from the base to his fingertips and then rapidly shot upwards along his arm!
Ah Xing was taken aback. Just as he was about to stop them, a jumble of chaotic information rushed into his mind!

A series of vivid yet unfamiliar images flashed rapidly before his eyes...

In the video, he saw a young couple.

The man was tall and wiry, while the woman... was slightly plump but had gentle features.

They held a babbling baby in their arms, their smiles radiant, a picture of joy and harmony.

They roamed the martial world, sparring and competing with others to improve their skills...

Until that day, after an ordinary competition, the loser, filled with resentment, turned his vicious hand on their young child...

What followed was the mother's heart-wrenching cries, the father's desperate, bloodshot eyes... Finally, their child's body was buried in the cold pit...

However, shortly after they left, the small mound where the baby was buried was suddenly dug up! The infant, who should have been dead, with its eyes emitting blue light, actually crawled out of the soil on its own!
He walked forward aimlessly for a while, then the blue light and aura around him suddenly dissipated, and he turned back into an ordinary child, before collapsing to the ground.

When he awoke again, the blue light and aura had vanished, and he had returned to being an ordinary toddler, beginning his life as a wanderer, scavenging scraps and relying on charity to survive...

As he grew from a toddler into a teenager, he acquired a worn-out shoeshine box and began shining shoes on the street day after day, saving up his meager earnings while his eyes held a faint hope for the future…

Finally, he saved up ten silver dollars, which he treasured and wanted to go to school, but he bumped into a disheveled old beggar...

The old beggar stopped him, saying that a ray of spiritual light shot out from the top of his head, making him a martial arts prodigy, a once-in-a-century talent. He said that once his meridians were opened, he would soar like a dragon in the sky, and that the important task of maintaining world peace would be entrusted to him...

The boy believed it and used all his hard-earned savings to buy a secret manual called "Buddha's Palm" from the old beggar.

He cultivated his skills devoutly, but when he confronted the bullies, he was severely humiliated by reality, knocked to the ground, and subjected to endless bullying...

Hope shattered, dreams dashed. The disheartened boy discarded the fake manual and wandered aimlessly through the streets.

Just then, he met another chubby orphan. The chubby boy told him that the Tiantong Church was a good place; as long as you were an orphan, you would have food, shelter, and even free schooling there…

So, the boy followed the chubby boy to the Tiantong Church, where he settled down and became the later Ah Xing...

The images in his mind continued to circulate, but Ah Xing could no longer bear to look at them. He squatted on the ground, his mouth wide open, but no sound came out. Only hot tears fell like broken beads onto the smooth ground.

So... that baby was me!
“A spiritual light was shooting out from the top of his head…” He subconsciously reached out and touched the top of his head. It turned out that what the old beggar said was not entirely false.
"Master... no, is Master reminding my parents?"

Ah Xing raised his head, looked at the statue, kowtowed several times, then suddenly stood up and rushed out of the cathedral. He was going to find his parents.

But as he stepped out of the cathedral, amidst the blinding sunlight and bustling traffic, he felt an unprecedented sense of bewilderment and helplessness.

He knew the couple in the picture were his parents, whom he had been searching for so desperately. He knew they loved him deeply. But... where were they?

He didn't know where to look. He hesitated at the door for a long time, then finally turned back to the church, stood once more before the statue of the Heavenly Lord, and silently cried out, prayed, and pleaded in his heart:
"Master...please tell me...where should I look for them?"

Meanwhile, at Pig Cage Alley.

Zhang Zhiwei was sitting in front of a "fried dough stick" stall, leisurely savoring the authentic Shanghai snack. Suddenly, he put down his chopsticks and shouted loudly towards the iconic tenement building:
"Landlady!"

The sound traveled up clearly.

The landlady was curling her hair when she thought some scoundrel was causing trouble again. Enraged, she stormed down the stairs with her head full of multicolored curlers, her voice preceding her arrival as she roared, hands on her hips:

"Which damned bastard is howling like a ghost? Trying to summon your soul! Believe me, I'll slap you so hard you won't be able to pry you off the wall!"

She appeared cursing and swearing, and the tenants along the way quickly shrank back and gave way.

A few of the bolder ones greeted her with smiles: "Landlady, have you eaten yet?"

"Landlady, you look radiant today!"

"Eat, eat, eat your dead man's head! Just looking at you bunch of losers makes me full!" ...

The landlady unleashed her full power, launching an indiscriminate attack before glaring at the culprit: "Which short-lived bastard was yelling at me just now?!"

Sitting in the shop, Zhang Zhiwei slowly raised his hand and said in a calm tone, "It's me."

The landlady turned around angrily, about to continue her tirade, but when she saw that it was Zhang Zhiwei, the foul language that was on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back, and the anger on her face froze instantly, turning into a hint of surprise and barely perceptible respect.

It wasn't that she had poor eyesight; it was simply that Zhang Zhiwei didn't exude any Qi energy. If one didn't see him with their own eyes, they wouldn't be able to detect his presence based solely on perception.

"Oh...it's you, Little Celestial Master," the landlady's tone softened immediately, and she explained somewhat awkwardly, "I thought it was some ignorant fool shouting nonsense..."

Upon hearing that Zhang Zhiwei was there, the landlord hurriedly ran out of the house with a smile on his face, about to greet him.

Zhang Zhiwei spoke first, his gaze sweeping between the two of them, a hint of amusement in his voice, as he cut to the chase:

"Landlord and landlady, do you want a son or not?"

Do you want a son or not?
These words were like a thunderclap, leaving the landlady and the landlord stunned on the spot. Immediately afterward, their faces darkened.

Their son is the deepest and most painful scar in their hearts. The pain of losing their son more than a decade ago has never truly healed, and they believe that Zhang Zhiwei is deliberately toying with them.

Moreover, their children have been dead for more than ten years. If they really wanted to have another child, given their age and health, they could have given birth to their own children long ago. Why wait until today?
They just... could never fully recover from the pain of losing their child, and couldn't get over that mental hurdle.

Now, Zhang Zhiwei's bringing up of the old issues is undoubtedly like rubbing salt into their still-healing wounds.

The landlady's temper was about to get out of control, and her eyes were turning dangerous.

Zhang Zhiwei saw the misunderstanding between the two and stopped beating around the bush, directly interrupting them and saying, "He is your biological son."

His own son?
The landlord and landlady were stunned again, and subconsciously looked at each other, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.

The landlady's lips moved, but she couldn't say anything.

The landlord remained relatively calm and said in a deep voice, "Little Celestial Master, our son... has been dead for a long time. I buried him with my own hands."

"If they're buried, they might not necessarily be dead, right?"

Zhang Zhiwei picked up a steamed bun from the table and gently poked it open with his chopsticks: "What if... he's still alive? He crawled out from inside?"

Upon hearing this, the landlady's expression became extremely complicated, and a sliver of hope that her son was still alive grew wildly like weeds.

Because she knew Zhang Zhiwei well. Although he sometimes seemed unreliable in his actions and words, he never spoke carelessly when it came to truly important matters.

The landlord, however, was more rational: "Little Master, what exactly are you trying to say? This joke... is not funny at all."

"Who's joking with you?" Zhang Zhiwei put down his chopsticks and glanced at the two of them. "Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"

His earnest attitude startled the landlady and the landlord, and a glimmer of hope, which they themselves dared not believe, unexpectedly rose in the long-dead corner of their hearts.

"Then...then you mean to say?" The two spoke almost simultaneously, their voices trembling violently.

Zhang Zhiwei slowly said, "Your son is no ordinary child. He is a naturally gifted individual who has awakened a rare innate ability that is said to be one in a hundred years. Back then, you thought he had died because his heart meridian was shattered, so you buried him. But in reality, he did not truly die. After you left, his innate ability was passively activated, allowing him to heal his injuries, break open the grave, and crawl out again."

This explanation struck like a second thunderbolt, leaving the landlady and landlord dumbfounded. Their faces flushed red and then turned pale as a mix of emotions welled up inside them.

"Is...is this true? Little Celestial Master!" The landlady's voice was already choked with sobs, tears streaming down her face. "Then...where is he now? My son..."

The landlord's eyes also reddened, but he still insisted on asking, "Little Master, how...how did you find him?"

Zhang Zhiwei said, "Didn't the Tiantong Church spread my 'Shoveling Technique' a while ago?"

"Some time ago, a believer practiced this skill and obtained Qi. Once he obtained Qi, his strength was comparable to that of a superhuman who had practiced for decades."

"I felt he had potential, so I took him on as a disciple. When I took him on, I looked into his past and saw images of the two of you in fragments of his childhood memories. So, I've come to tell you this."

As soon as she finished speaking, the landlady knelt down in front of Zhang Zhiwei with a "plop," kowtowing and saying touching words with tears streaming down her face.

The landlord followed closely behind, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Little Celestial Master! We are deeply grateful! We will never forget your kindness! From now on, whatever you command, we will do our best, even if it means going through fire and water!"

"Alright, alright." Zhang Zhiwei waved his hand, and a gentle force lifted the two of them up. "He's in the cathedral of the Tiantong Church right now. If you want to go..."

Before he could finish speaking, with a "whoosh," the landlady swung her legs in a wide arc, turning into a blurry afterimage and disappearing into Pig Cage Alley!
Immediately afterward, the landlord also moved swiftly, chasing after him like a shadow, at an equally astonishing speed.

Looking in the direction the two disappeared, Zhang Zhiwei couldn't help but smile and mutter to himself:

"No wonder they're mother and son, their running styles are almost identical."

He picked up the bun he had poked and slowly put it into his mouth.

In fact, Zhang Zhiwei had already discovered Ah Xing's background two days ago, when he appeared in Ah Xing's dream to impart his skills.

After all, to pass on one's skills to someone, one must understand their character and background. It was while exploring Ah Xing's past memories that he discovered this long-buried past.

Considering Ah Xing's state of mind and ability to cope at the time, he did not immediately return this memory, but chose to postpone it.

He needs to wait until Ah Xing has grown a bit more and his will is more resilient before informing him.

After observing that Ah Xing had come to understand himself and knew what he truly wanted, Zhang Zhiwei felt the time was right and sealed this memory in the statue in the church.

Ah Xing used to come here to pray every day. As long as he came as usual, he would know about his background.

As for why the landlord and landlady weren't informed immediately...

Zhang Zhiwei was unaware of A Xing's own wishes.

If Ah Xing resists the truth and is unwilling to acknowledge it, he naturally won't interfere or meddle.

But just now, through his connection with the statue, he heard Ah Xing praying before it, asking about his parents' whereabouts.

One searches desperately, the other longs for him day and night.

Since both sides share this intention, he is naturally happy to grant their request. (End of Chapter)