Against Heaven's Will

"So you are telling me you endangered my wife's life for a test?" 

When Xuefeng learned of President Wu's reasoning, his eyes got so sharp they could cut metal. If not for the guards standing by President Wu's side, Xuefeng wouldn't hesitate and already punch some sense into his brain. 

"Well, it's not really a test. I want her to learn how she can manipulate the whole Trade Union to her own advantage when the situation looks grim," President Wu explained. "It was such a perfect opportunity. How could I miss it? Of course, I made special preparations to ensure my granddaughter is well protected. Even if she fails, she will be safe."

"Even so, we don't even know who we face against. What if that expert has some ultimate Arts you don't even know to exist?" Xuefeng questioned heated but Nuwa stopped him, holding him back with a hug. 

"Calm down love. There is nothing we can do aside from trusting Wu. She told me herself that she will be fine so we need to believe her," Nuwa assured. "Getting mad at President Wu will bring nothing good. I already vented enough and he knows that his head will roll if anything bad happens to Wu." 

"That's right, I can bet my life that Little Wu will be alright. She is a natural-born leader, so she will do just fine," President Wu affirmed. "Also, I don't think this Flying Ship will survive another battle." 

Gazing around, the office was already damaged beyond recognition with walls having holes everywhere and furniture being smashed to pieces. It seemed like it was cleaned up a bit already but Xuefeng could still see the obvious damage.

He never saw Nuwa use her full power but this could be close. 

"I want to contact Wu," Xuefeng demanded, rubbing Nuwa's hand. 

He believed her words but unless he confirmed the case by himself, his heart wouldn't be at ease.

"Sure," Nuwa nodded and opened her hand, showing a small Communication Crystal on her palm.

To communicate in Heaven Realm, one needed a special kind that allowed one to use the network within the Lands. The distance was simply too large to cover with the usage of normal Communication Crystals they carried from the Earth Realm. 

The crystal lit up in her hand as she channeled her Qi, but then she frowned. 

"She is not answering," Nuwa muttered before immediately assuring, "Don't worry, you can tell she is okay with your bracelet. Wu is probably busy with her plan, so she cannot respond right now. She will call back once she notices I tried to contact her."

"I don't like this. Even though I love that you found me, you two should have stayed together. You know how dangerous the situation we are in and how many people want to kill me. Knowing all of us are in the Water Land Capital and my wife is alone in the Fire Land, who knows how many experts decides to capture her to blackmail me?" Xuefeng ranted. 

His wives' safety was his top priority and nothing else mattered. 

"Baby…" Nuwa hugged Xuefeng tightly. "I know I should have stayed but there is nothing we can do about it now. Scolding me won't fix the situation." 

"Sigh, I'm sorry…" Xuefeng apologized, rubbing Nuwa's cheek. "I'm just venting. I came out and stayed high profile so I can show you all that I'm fine. I was sure at least you two will be safe as Wu stayed with you. I have faith in your strength." 

"Mhmm, I know. Don't worry, it's going to be alright," Nuwa assured, not letting go of him. 

"Who is protecting Wu, right now?" Xuefeng questioned, gazing at President Wu. He didn't have any other choice but to cooperate with that man. 

"Someone really powerful. When it comes to guarding and defending, he is number one in the Fire Land. He is the current Secretary of Defense responsible for safety within Fire Land Capital," President Wu replied. "I take my Granddaughter's safety as a top priority which is why I also care so much who she wants to spend the rest of her life with. I'm sure Miss Nuwa met with him already in the Central Bank, so she can vouch for his strength." 

"Nuwa?" Xuefeng turned his head behind to look at her. "You know him?" 

He didn't feel comfortable with someone else protecting his wife but considering current circumstances, he was willing to compromise. 

"I do. We met him for a short while. He was questioning me about the few people I killed," Nuwa nodded satisfied. "If that's him, I don't think we need to worry. He should be stronger than I am." 

"I usually hired him to protect me but since I don't have the Fire Stone anymore, I decided to shift him to protecting Wu instead," President Wu added. 

"What made you change your mind? Why did you give me the Fire Stone now?" Xuefeng asked something that bothered him this whole time. "You wanted to kill me so badly." 

President Wu only shrugged. 

"Look, I'm a businessman in blood. I will do what will benefit me the most. With Sect Master Liu's protection, I can't kill you anymore even if I wanted. Even if I did succeed, I would put myself or Little Wu in danger. Seeing how many experts plan to kill you, it is simply a death wish."

Standing up from his chair, he continued, "Sect Master Liu wouldn't hesitate and take the Elemental Bracelet away from me, leaving me with nothing by my Granddaughter's hatred for me. It is not smart to do business without profits. I might as well help you, so you get strong enough to protect both yourself and Little Wu."

Xuefeng nodded, accepting such an explanation. It sounded just like he imagined. 

"President Wu, we reached the Palace." 

Xuefeng had many more questions but the guard came into the office, disturbing them. 

"We can talk more later. Focus on winning the Tournament and surviving the next few days first," President Wu suggested. "You shouldn't make Sect Master Liu wait." 

He didn't wait for Xuefeng's reply as he left the office first, accompanied by his guards. 

'Nuwa, follow Tianshi,' Xuefeng ordered in his mind. 'Make sure you are both safe till I'm done.' 

'What about you?' Tianshi asked, gripping his hand with worry. 'I can't sense any danger, yet but who knows what will happen later…' 

'He has me,' Ming replied in his stead and walked up, kissing him deeply. 'He will always be safe by my side.' 

As she spoke, her body vanished, sinking into his body. 

'Let's go.' 

———

As they left President Wu's Flying Ship, they found themselves inside a spacious garden. It was filled with greenery but it was mostly freshly cut grass with nothing else growing in the distance. 

They immediately spotted three people casually sitting on the grass while eating snacks from various wooden trays filled with food. Sect Master Liu and his family were simply enjoying themselves. 

"You are five minutes early, but that's okay," Sect Master Liu called out as soon as Xuefeng landed and stood up. "Follow me. We will start the training right away." 

"Here?" Xuefeng asked, gazing around the place. He knew how destructive was his training and that place looked too beautiful to destroy.

"Don't worry, we won't be too explosive today," Sect Master Liu assured as he read his mind and walked away. 

Golden Queen winked at him as if to encourage him and turned to the girls, "Girls! Come, come, let's sit and enjoy the last rays of sunlight before we start our own training. We can watch Xuefeng and my husband train as we eat snacks. What do you think?" 

"Alright," Nuwa and Tianshi nodded at the same time before kissing Xuefeng's cheeks. "Good luck, Love." 

It was a clear sign of asserting one's dominance. 

Golden Queen giggled at that and suggested, "I think you shouldn't make my husband wait. You will suffer later." 

"Right, I'm going," Xuefeng announced, seeing Sect Master Liu already walked far away and flew after him, trying to catch up. 

He could feel Xinyu's curious gaze on him but his mind was still too occupied with Wu, causing him to only give her a greeting nod. 

They walked without talking for a good minute before Sect Master Liu finally stopped, turning to him. He didn't talk and simply stared at him. They were still a short distance away from the girls so Xuefeng wasn't really worried. 

"Master?" Xuefeng asked politely. "Is there something you want to tell me?" 

He sounded as if Xuefeng was teaching instead which made Sect Master Liu smile. 

"You know I came here to kill you, right?"