Chapter 3208: Decision

Published Mar 11, 2026, 03:09 PM

Chapter 3208: Decision Qing Tianchui stared at the unraveling string before him, confused. "What does this mean? I’m not really his father?" He looked at both Bai Jingshen and Alex with pleading eyes. This could not be true. "For all intents and purposes, you are the father. It’s just your soul isn’t quite the same as it was when you had an actual body is all," Bai Jingshen said. He turned toward Alex. "Would that be a problem?" "I’m not entirely sure," Alex answered. "Well, is there a way we can be sure?" Bai Jingshen asked. "We didn’t entirely fail, but we also didn’t succeed." Alex scratched his head. "What do you suggest? I don’t think we have an option to test whether it will work or not." Bai Jingshen thought for a moment. "What if we just tested whether it works or not first before getting into it?" Alex shook his head. "With how unique Pearl’s soul is, we can’t test for that. We can test whether a Blood Beast can do what we want or not though. That can be a good thing." Bai Jingshen nodded. "Should I find another beast with some Azure Dragon bloodline?" "No, we don’t want to weaken Pearl’s father if it does work. Can you find me another Azure Dragon’s core instead?" Bai Jingshen gave a mirthless laugh. "The four Heavenly beasts are very scary about who they let keep the beast cores of their loved ones. There are plenty out there that still do it, but they will never tell us about it." Alex frowned. That didn’t help. "But," Bai Jingshen continued. "If we’re only testing whether Blood Beasts can help or not, we don’t necessarily need Azure Dragons, right?" Alex’s eyes widened. "Of course. I’m stupid! Can you get me a White Tiger core then? As for bloodline, yours should be the strongest anyway, so that will work as well." Bai Jingshen nodded. "I should be able to do that. I’ll see if any of my grandchildren are willing to give it a shot." "Are you sure you want—" "I’m sorry to intrude your conversation," Pearl’s father cut them off in quite a loud voice, "but can someone tell me what is going on? What are these tests? What are you trying to do? Why was I born?" Alex paused for a moment, forgetting that Pearl’s father likely wasn’t aware of what they were planning. He turned toward Pearl. "You haven’t told him yet?" he asked. Pearl shook his head. "I was hoping to spend some time with him without that information hovering between us the entire time." The dragon turned toward his son. "Shouchuang, what is happening? What are you not telling me?" Pearl took in a deep breath. "I... lied to you, father." The dragon gave a confused look. "I don’t understand. What did you lie to me about?" "It’s regarding my Azure Dragon’s bloodline." Qing Tianchui’s eyebrows narrowed. "I thought you didn’t have the bloodline. I destroyed it, didn’t I? It was my fault." "I do not blame you for it, father. Please do not think of it to be your fault," Pearl said. "I did not lie that I had lost it, but I did lie that there was no way of recovering it." Qing Tianchui’s eyes widened. "But you said the patriarch told you—" "The patriarch didn’t lie," Pearl said. "But there is a way for me to get back my bloodline. It’s not a guaranteed way, and the chance of success might even be low, but there is a way. That way... is you." Pearl felt terrible as the words came out of his mouth. He could hear how they sounded. He didn’t want a father. He just wanted someone to help him get his bloodline. "Father, I don’t want you to think that—" "Stop!" Qing Tianchui said quickly, causing Pearl to form a lump in his throat. He lowered his head, no longer able to look at his father in the eyes. The dragon turned toward Alex. "Is this true?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮 Alex nodded. "That’s not entirely the reason we gave you life, but that is one—" "No, not that. Is it true that my son can get his bloodline?" Alex raised an eyebrow. Pearl’s eyes shot up toward his father, his expression changing. "Father, what are you saying?" "I just want to know," the dragon said, still looking at Alex. "Can he?" Alex tightened his chin and nodded. "It is just as he said. Pearl can gain the bloodline on his own, but his soul won’t be able to keep up with the change if he does so, in which case he requires the soul of another Azure Dragon to help push him along. And that soul must be a unique soul that can match Pearl’s, which in Pearl’s case can only be you." Qing Tianchui held a somber gaze. "What are the chances of success?" "I’m pretty confident I can do it, but I will still need to make thorough preparations. That includes various tests, and only after that can I give you the answer." The dragon nodded. "Please perform this test. If the success rate is high, I am very much willing to help my son." "Before you say that," Alex added. "I must say that a beast of Divine realm strength would likely die helping evolve an Immortal beast." "So what?" the dragon asked. "I was the one who took my son’s bloodline away. If I have the chance to return it, then I will take it." "No, father," Pearl said. "Let’s think about it. Please. I don’t even want the stupid bloodline. I want you to stay alive." The dragon smiled. "But I want what’s better for you, Son. I think I understand it much better now. I’m not really your father. I’m just a collection of memories that aren’t even complete, given form to be a copy of your real father. That artifact was telling the truth." "I don’t care," Pearl said. "But I do," Qing Tianchui said. "I have to do this." "Why?" "Because if someone tried to kill you and him," the dragon said, gesturing to Alex to the side, "I wouldn’t hesitate to let you die to save him." Pearl’s face froze. "What?"

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