Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Zhao Ling was clearly very proud of himself for growing up. He spread his wings and walked back and forth in front of Xu Lingguang and Lan Jian with his tender yellow claws, making a clear chirping sound as he walked.

The other cubs surrounded him, all amazed by Zhaoling's transformation.

Yu Rong carefully touched Zhao Ling and said in great surprise, "Zhao Ling is almost as big as my head."

Yun Feng continued, "It's even bigger than Mu Yun."

When Mu Yun heard that his name had been called, he immediately stood next to Zhao Ling and compared them. Not entirely convinced, he puffed out his furry belly and retorted, "I'm clearly bigger."

Seeing this, Zhaoling quickly spread her wings and flapped them to show that she was clearly bigger than Muyun.

The four cubs started arguing about which one was bigger.

Xu Lingguang watched from the side and barely managed to hold back his laughter.

He glanced at Lan Jian and said hesitantly, "Aside from growing a bit bigger, Zhao Ling doesn't seem to have changed much from before."

The translation is: It seems like they've grown physically, but they still don't look very smart.

Lan Jian remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "He was never very smart before."

Xu Lingguang: "..."

Ah this.

Fine.

Such words should not be spoken, lest they hurt the little one's self-esteem, so Xu Lingguang avoided the topic altogether.

To celebrate Zhaoling's safe growth and to reward the cubs for their good behavior during this time, Xu Lingguang took the cubs back to the cabin and prepared a sumptuous feast to celebrate.

Before leaving, Xu Lingguang looked at Lan Jian and tentatively invited, "Clan Chief Lan, why don't you come along too?"

Lan Jian's first reaction was that she didn't really want to go, but when she met his clear eyes, she somehow agreed and followed Xu Lingguang at a leisurely pace.

Not far ahead, Xu Lingguang and Youyu were walking together, each carrying two cubs in their arms.

Even with a big meal, the cubs didn't settle down, still chattering and arguing about who was older, Muyun or Zhaoling.

When they couldn't reach a conclusion after arguing for a while, Yun Feng made the final decision: "Then let them be the same size."

Although Mu Yun and Zhao Ling were not very satisfied with the result, the two judges had already made their decision, so they had no choice but to drop the matter.

On his return trip from Qingyu City, Xu Lingguang bought a lot of high-quality ingredients.

With a large sum of money on the horizon, he spent lavishly on spirit beast meat. This meat, imbued with spiritual energy, was far more delicious than ordinary ingredients and also more beneficial to cultivators. The only downside was its price; Xu Lingguang spent a considerable amount of spirit stones.

But he was really happy and thought it wouldn't hurt to splurge once in a while.

After working hard to earn money, you naturally want to eat and drink well and absolutely cannot mistreat yourself.

A variety of spirit beast meats emerged from his hands and were transformed into dishes that were delicious and visually appealing.

Yu and her cubs were already sitting around the table.

Lan Jian followed along almost unconsciously, already somewhat regretting it. Eating in his original form was inconvenient, but if he transformed into human form... He hadn't told Xu Lingguang his identity as the owner of Qianjin Tower before, and saying it now... felt too abrupt.

He was unusually conflicted and hesitant, wondering whether to say goodbye directly or reluctantly stay a while longer and then find an excuse to leave.

But seeing the cubs' excited expressions, he couldn't just leave abruptly and spoil the atmosphere, so he shrunk down and sat down in an empty spot at the table.

Xu Lingguang brought out the dishes one by one, and Youyu had already helped set out the bowls and chopsticks.

Xu Lingguang took off his apron, looked around and found that there were only empty seats by the Lanjiang River, so he naturally sat down next to him.

The cubs were already incredibly hungry, but they had refrained from eating until Xu Lingguang arrived. Now that Xu Lingguang was seated, the cubs let out a loud yelp and began scrambling for their favorite dishes.

Xu Lingguang enjoyed watching the cubs eat, feeling a sense of satisfaction as if his cooking skills had been praised. He picked up a piece of fish and put it in his bowl, then noticed Lan Jian sitting there aloof and motionless. He quickly understood Lan Jian's thoughts and secretly suppressed a smile.

The cubs are also in beast form, each with a small dish in front of them. Yu will help put whatever they like to eat on the dish, and they can just focus on eating.

But Lan Jian is different. No one is serving him food, and animal paw pads can't hold chopsticks. He's also very reserved, so he can only watch and can't move.

Xu Lingguang figured out his little scheme, so he took the initiative to use serving chopsticks to serve him food: "Clan Chief Lan, try this steamed fish. It's a silver-edged fish that I bought from a cultivator. This kind of fish has extremely delicious flesh and no bones. When steaming it, you don't need to remove the scales or add too many seasonings. Once the scales turn into oil, they can fully bring out the fish's own freshness."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Lan Jian, wondering why You Yu could transform into human form, while he had never seen Lan Jian in human form.

He was curious, but afraid of asking questions that might offend Jin Da Tui, so he could only be extra attentive in putting food on Lan Jian's plate, carefully explaining each dish to him.

Lan Jian originally only intended to sit for a while and go through the motions, but Xu Lingguang was so enthusiastic that he had no choice but to eat.

He was burdened from head to toe, even sitting upright while eating, a stark contrast to the unseemly cubs opposite him.

Seeing this, Xu Lingguang secretly curled the corner of his mouth, keeping an eye on him out of the corner of his eye. After he finished eating what was on his plate, he then served him food at just the right time.

Xu Lingguang's cooking skills were so good that the entire meal was eaten up, and even the soup was licked clean by the cubs.

After the meal, the cubs went to the yard to digest and play, while Youyu took the initiative to help Xu Lingguang clean up the dishes.

Lan Jian stepped to the kitchen door and glanced inside. She saw Xu Lingguang washing dishes while chatting with Youyu about the cubs. The two of them, one big and one small, were laughing and joking, creating a peaceful and idyllic atmosphere.

Especially when the setting sun shone through the window, it gave Xu Lingguang's hair a golden halo, making him look warm and soft.

Lan Jian squatted at the door, staring blankly for a while before turning around and going into the yard.

Xu Lingguang came out after clearing away the dishes and saw Lan Jian, who had shrunk in size, lying on a recliner under a tree. The recliner was the one he usually used to cool off. Although Lan Jian's size had shrunk considerably, it was still quite cramped. The way he was trying to tuck his four paws in to keep himself from falling off looked rather cute.

Xu Lingguang watched quietly for a while, then remembered that he still had important things to do, so he went inside and took out the bronze stove he had bought earlier. He held it up and brought it close to Lan Jian's side: "When we went to Wenling Slope before, Muyun saw a treasure, but none of us could recognize what it was. Chief Lan is very knowledgeable, could you help me see what this treasure is?"

Lan Jian glanced at it, somewhat surprised: "This is the Sun Furnace, where did you get it?"

Xu Lingguang then explained the whole story: "What is the Xi Ri Furnace?" He had originally wanted to ask if it was valuable, but then felt that being too direct would make him seem greedy, so he changed his question to: "Is it very valuable?"

Lan Jian nodded and said, "If I remember correctly, this is the alchemy furnace used by Liu Zhu, the ancient alchemy emperor of the human race."

It should be noted that when the Mountain and Sea Realm still existed, there were only a handful of human cultivators who could stand out among the ancient gods and leave their names behind. Danhuang Liuzhu was one of them.

If I remember correctly, she and Si Yuan have quite a history.

However, the Mountain and Sea Realm collapsed later, and Si Yuan was seriously injured while protecting the young members of his clan. He died not long after, and Liu Zhu also disappeared without a trace.

Unexpectedly, the alchemy furnace she once used ended up in Xu Lingguang's hands.