Author’s Note:

Short reminder in case you don’t remember since he comes up so rarely but the Leng Lu mentioned in this chapter is a fallen god and Li Yin’s lover (also the father of his son, Ru Zhen, who was mentioned a few chapters ago). Even though Leng Lu shares one part of his name with Leng Jin Yu, they’re not related. Leng Lu was a trueborn god so the ‘Leng’ isn’t actually his family name since gods don’t have those.

Li Yin couldn’t help but think of Leng Jin Yu. He was a person that probably could have been considered for ascension outside of cultivation as well. He would have had the right personality and even the skills to truly make it here.

Still, even when it came to him who had ascended by virtue of his strength, his status had taken a nosedive at first. From the respected Grandmaster of the strongest cultivation sect in the mortal realm to somebody trying to slowly find his footing in the courtyard of the idle gods, the difference was steep.

He hadn’t rested though and had managed to turn things around quite fast. Only a few weeks had gone by when he managed to catch Qiang Yan’s eyes. Sure, there had been luck involved in that but finally, he had managed to make the most of it thanks to his smarts, skills, and values. This was the type of person that was perfectly fit to be an ascended deity. Just look how he had managed to snatch up a position in the dragon realm in a matter of years! Now, it seemed he was actually closely working with the dragon king. How many could say that of themselves?

Even though Li Yin was with Leng Lu who knew exactly who Leng Jin Yu’s husband was, his lover hadn’t bothered to tell him about this spicy piece of gossip. Li Yin might have his doubts based on the fact that Jinde had always been wearing a veiled hat while in the Nine Heavens but he only knew for sure that Leng Jin Yu had somehow managed to squeeze into the group of Qiu Ling’s advisers. That was a noteworthy deed and he didn’t think it only had to do with his marriage.

Either way, ascended deities were an important part of the Nine Heavens even though the ones that were chosen by the Goddess of magnanimity made up only the smallest percentage of them. With her looking favorably upon the people who were originally mortal and had become gods through the process of ascension, she was likely to be more open to the dragons and half-bloods as well. Also, her son seemed to have gotten along well with both Leng Jin Yu and Zhong Jing Yi so chances were that she might know of a few things.

If he had to judge it according to the overall situation, then the Goddess of Magnanimity was very likely to agree with his proposal. Her palace wasn’t that big so her voice probably wouldn’t hold much weight in the final discussion but she would be a good person to interact with the dragons and half-bloods as she wasn’t too prejudiced.

Thanks to having a good understanding of the differences between the gods and humans and also the difficulties of overcoming them after ascension, she might even have some valuable insight into how to integrate the half-bloods better and make the dragons and gods pull closer together. There certainly was such a chance. Thus, she was the perfect candidate to speak to next. Her insights might even allow him to plan his next steps better.

When Li Yin arrived at the gate of the Palace of Magnanimity, the two guards inclined their heads. “God of Justice.”

Li Yin faintly raised his brows. The greeting was very standard but something was wrong with their expressions. Usually, everyone was especially serious when in front of him and these guards certainly weren’t an exception. Still, he could perceive a hint of something.

“I am here to speak to the Goddess of Magnanimity but I am afraid I didn’t announce my arrival ahead of time. Did I come at a bad time?” This was the only explanation he could think of. But even then, they should have told him straightforwardly if she was out or already entertaining another guest. What reason was there to look so hesitant?

The two guards exchanged a glance, feeling even worse about the situation. One of them finally cleared his throat to get rid of the awkwardness. Either way, they had to explain one way or another. What the God of Justice did afterward … that certainly wasn’t up to them. The bigshots should deal with these things amongst themselves.

“That’s not it. The Goddess of magnanimity is currently inside with her son. Also … Tianjun is currently with them.” As to why he was … there definitely were enough rumors flying around to think of a reason or two.

Li Yin’s brows raised even higher but he finally understood why the two guards were looking at him so awkwardly. He was well aware that people liked to call the two of them the ‘most unreasonable fathers in the Nine Heavens’ behind their backs. At the same time, everyone was also aware that they didn’t quite see eye to eye, mainly because one thought the other too perfunctory while the other thought him to be too unreasonable. They were just too dissimilar to get along.

Not to mention their usual mode of getting along, there was also the issue of why the Heavenly Emperor was likely here: He was trying to set his son up with the promising youngsters in the Nine Heavens or at least pretending to do so. As for who fell into that category in the Palace of Magnanimity … “So His Majesty is trying to get his claws into your Young Master?”

The guard coughed and refrained from commenting. What the Heavenly Emperor wanted to do or not, they didn’t dare to guess. Even if people called it an open secret that the dragon king was going after their crown prince and the Heavenly Emperor disapproved, that still couldn’t be discussed anywhere near them.

Li Yin didn’t force them either and simply motioned to the gate. “Well, unless the Goddess of Magnanimity requests, I would still like to see her or her son if she’s truly unavailable. I’ll have to trouble one of you to announce my presence.”