Tian stared at the person in front of him and finally let go, his gaze subtle. Of course, he could see that Jing He’s reaction was off, and, well, this person had always fancied himself a beauty. He could imagine what was going through his head at this time. Of course, that wasn’t what he intended to do at all. In fact, he felt a bit disgusted with the idea.

To Tian, there were Xing and their child and then everyone else in the world. He wasn’t reluctant to admit that he cared very much about the former two but couldn’t care less about the latter which Jing He was naturally considered part of. He didn’t interest him as a person. Was he prettier than Xing? Maybe. But that beauty he held was only skin-deep and it couldn’t attract him who had only ever loved Xing. No, Jing He was interesting only in one regard and that was as a tool to regain what he had lost.

No matter his feelings, Tian wasn’t about to say any of that to Jing He. Instead, what he wanted was for this person to understand his meaning. “As a trueborn god, you are likely aware that the true reincarnation happening outside the trials is partial to the original state of the soul.”

Jing He hesitated but finally nodded faintly. He still wasn’t sure where exactly Tian was going with this but since he hadn’t made any sudden moves and had even let go of him, maybe it wasn’t as bad as he had thought.

Tian turned his back to him again, not wanting to bother with whatever expression Jing He would wear next. “Simply put, one is always more likely to reincarnate as the same race one once was. A trueborn god would reincarnate as a trueborn god again, a dragon as a dragon, and somebody with mixed blood … will also most likely reincarnate as somebody with roughly the same blood in their next life. As you can imagine, that puts me at an impasse.”

Jing He’s brows furrowed but then smoothed out a moment longer. “Your child … should be of mixed blood as well.” After all, Xing had been a trueborn god but Tian … well, he wasn’t sure what exactly he was but it was safe to say that he wasn’t part of any of the three immortal races. It seemed like he came closest to the fallen gods but even compared to them, there might be differences. Jing He simply couldn’t tell as he had spent little time with this man.

Tian inclined his head. “I am the only one left of my people so, naturally, chances are slim of a child with the exact same blood being born.”

Behind him, Jing He hugged himself and then carefully took a step back. Even though he knew that he couldn’t escape from this man, he just wanted to put some distance between them. “Then … what is it that you want from me?” Somehow, there only seemed to be one answer to that question and he didn’t like how it sounded at all.

Tian raised his brows but didn’t turn around. He didn’t directly answer Jing He’s question either. Clearly, it wouldn’t work. Maybe it was the fact that this person was still affected by his recent fall so everything that happened was linked back to the issue between him and the current dragon king. Either way, it seemed he’d have to explain more.

He took a deep breath and looked at Xing’s seemingly peaceful face, telling himself that no matter what, it was all worth it as long as he could get him back. And after almost three hundred thousand years, what were a few minutes of superfluous explanations?

“You likely aren’t aware of this but my people were followed by bad luck. This … is simply fate, the one thing in the world even we had no power over. With the strength we were given, the balance of the world was tilted too far in our direction and as a result, we had to lose things bit by bit. That is the Law of Balance.”

He thought back to that time which was so far in the past that even his own memories seemed to start to blur. He could still recall some of them but … one day, he might not be able to. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe … he should even cut off those memories by himself. It might be one more precaution to ensure that this time, nothing would happen.

Tian closed his eyes and pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the moment. “With the decline of my people, the gods and demons were born and slowly grew into the races of today. Because of this … the combined blood of a god and a demon is the closest you could come to that of my people nowadays.”

Jing He’s brows furrowed. “A demon?”

Tian opened his eyes and finally turned around. “Since you are aware of your lover’s heritage, this should not surprise you all that much. The dragons were once considered part of the demon race and, in fact, their bloodline is one of the oldest which is why they were able to become such a distinctive race of their own. With him being a dragon who also has a certain trace of demonic blood from the other tribes, he is quite suitable. Maybe not the most suitable but he will do.”

Jing He looked at Tian in confusion. “He …” He wasn’t even sure what exactly to ask about. Either way, not considering whether Qiu Ling was ‘suitable’ or not in Tian’s mind, it seemed like he finally understood what the supreme sovereign wanted of him. “You … want me to have a child with Qiu Ling.”

Tian inclined his head. “Yes. I will help you heal your shattered soul once again so you can return to the Nine Heavens. You will hold a wedding and sooner or later … you will conceive his child which is almost guaranteed to be the reincarnation of Yuan.”