Time, well... it has this funny way of changing everything, doesn't it? And for these families, the changes had been nothing short of extraordinary.
Take Hye Won's mother, for instance. After decades of running that cake and cookie business ~ the one that practically defined who she was - she'd finally decided to hang up her apron. Retirement, they call it. She can't accept help or living with daughter who is willing to put all her money on, but went back to live on the old home. But here's the thing that caught everyone off guard: she'd opened her heart again.
Love at her age? Who would've thought. After years of grieving her late husband, she'd found companionship with a man her own age, her regular customer. Of course, being with Hye Won's mother meant... well, let's just say the poor guy had no idea what he was getting into. Hye Won had run background checks that would make the FBI jealous. Multiple investigations, covert and direct assessments—the works. Only after she'd deemed him "worthy" did she give her blessing.
The wedding was quiet, understated. But the real bombshell? That came later when Hye Won finally worked up the courage to tell her mother about Han Chen. About their... life style arrangement. Yeah, that conversation has been something. She challenged Hye Won that if she won't have a child within next 2 years, she will have one as her sister.
Meanwhile, Yue Lan's mother had found her own kind of peace. Picture this: a woman who'd spent years in absolute chaos, stress eating away at her sanity, now living in her own place and comfort with a small staff taking care of everything. The contrast was... well, it was striking, really.
You have to understand, she'd made the decision to leave the Yue Family alongside her daughter, and honestly? Best choice of her life. Those earlier years when mental illness nearly destroyed her—that's all behind her now. Yue Lan's care, combined with that mysterious healing ability of hers from Han Chen, had worked wonders. The gratitude in her eyes whenever she looked at her daughter... it was something to see.
And Han Chen? She genuinely liked the young man, despite his, um, complicated living situation she gradually informed.
Both mothers had agreed to those enhancement trials—their daughters had been pretty insistent about it. The treatments freed them from all the usual problems that come with advanced age, though martial training at their stage in life was, well, let's be realistic here. Not happening. Han Chen gave his silent blessings too.
Now, Han Chen's parents... really the other end of spectrum. Both had reached grand master peak level, very recently, which honestly surprised even themselves. His mother got there first ~ took her husband a few more years to catch up. When Han Chen offered them biotech enhancements, they'd actually turned him down. Too proud, you know? "We're naturally gifted enough," they'd said. Had to admire that confidence.
The thing is, the grand master realm wasn't quite as impressive as it used to be. Those enhancement viral drugs had been making the rounds, and suddenly everyone was advancing faster, more masters, more overall..Skipping over the traditional hurdles—the secret essence pools, those life-threatening possibility of Qi backlash that usually came with breaking through to grand master level. In fact the major profit making customers of SBA is now from martial artists.
The Hidden World of Martial Arts
Nations across the world felt an unspoken urgency, quietly encouraging their master-level warriors to break through into the Grand Master realm. It was about more than pride ~ it was about showcasing their ultimate human deterrent, their highest form of human power. But here's the thing: Unlike a peaceful training or meditation, the martial artists aren't really advancing with such. They need Life-and-death battles. Brutal sparring sessions that pushed them to their absolute limits.
Well, unless they had access to Han Chen's modified training arts ~ that's his spiritual martial techniques that gave practitioners far more return on their investment of effort and time.
This pressure-cooker environment had spawned a surge of new names, both in the glaring spotlight of public tournaments and the shadowed circuits of underground martial gatherings. Most of these enhanced practitioners were pushing a hundred years old or more, which made Han Chen's parents seem like youngsters in comparison. Obviously, Han Chen's group was the exception here. He'd even taught them how to conceal their qi signatures in public ~ smart move that prevented unwanted attention.
But why had he bothered? Because he had learnt of his father's side adventures many years ago.
More than three years back, his father had fought in underground tournaments under an alias. Two motives drove him: first, to prove himself worthy of Han Chen's mother, matching her advancement speed step by step; second, to vent the frustrations of his high-stakes corporate life in the only way that truly worked ~ brutal, unrestrained combat with real stakes.
His combat power was unusual, thanks to the spiritual martial art techniques. He was a Grand Master facing mostly Master-level opponents, so it served its purpose well enough.
He won five championships while in disguise, earning himself the moniker "Northern Crane Saber." But success came with a price ~ the tournament organizers grew suspicious, then intrigued. They arranged for him to face a Grand Master level opponent as a test. When he beat that fighter too, they wanted to meet the real man behind the mask, offering lucrative partnerships and higher opponents like hidden Grand masters if he revealed himself.
That left him with quite the dilemma. He couldn't expose who he really was, and his uneasiness about the whole business eventually reached Han Chen's mother. Later, Han Chen learned they'd had another sparring session ~ though it was more of a one-sided beatdown.
His mom, now that Han Chen was free, requested that he train them both. The occasional sparring sessions they had every few months quietly improved them beyond anything they'd imagined possible.
Anyway thus he decided to gift his father something he been delaying, to shift his attention and priorities. The constant lamenting about not finding ways to progress in martial arts and the power ceiling coming closer during family visits were also a factor in this decision.
About two years ago when he just learned it, Han Chen had decided they were ready for the advanced stuff. It is possibly his last gift to them other than the protection he put them under until he leave.
***
Martial arts... well, it wasn't as purely as effective as Qi cultivation, didn't give the same returns for the effort invested. But he created something in between.
He'd made up his mind and started teaching them martial scriptures that were, frankly, way beyond anything the current world had access to. Instead of sticking to the orthodox "refiner core formation" theories that most martial artists theorized, Han Chen had dug deep into ancient systems—internal energy work, warrior path doctrines, body-spirit cultivation techniques from throughout history.
What he'd created was... well, it was something special. A refined, stable path that let people without spiritual roots transcend the traditional Grand master limitations. The progression he'd developed had several stages:
Enlightened Grand Master was all about mastering internal energy and manifesting inner strength as actual, tangible aura—the momentum of martial arts made real. Then came Martial King, where the real body refinement began, awakening something called blood-energy.
Martial Overload was the perfected Martial King state, where qi and soul transformation gradually began. But Martial Supreme? That was where things take a big step into profundities—the convergence and condensation of lifelong martial momentum, refined essence, and transformed soul. Together, they formed something like a qi foundation, extending lifespan to around 320 years.
When Han Chen first presented these enhanced techniques ~ modified from the Han Family scriptures with detailed movement instructions and qi manipulation routes ~ his parents' reception was mixed, to put it mildly. Shock, apprehension, skepticism, confusion, and eventually acceptance, excitement, and lots of questions.
Their doubts vanished the moment Han Chen stepped into the air and just... stood there. Then he released a mild aura that still managed to pressure them at their level. Hard to argue with that kind of proof.
The condition for sharing this knowledge? Absolute secrecy. Han Chen had been crystal clear ~ they couldn't reveal these techniques to anyone else. But here's the fascinating part: the knowledge wasn't transferred conventionally. It was lineage inheritance, linking to their weak blood qi and soul. Only they and their descendants could train in it. He limited information about the higher realms, revealing it only when they qualified as Supremes.
He'd modified the convergence array to work with ambient low-grade energy instead of spiritual stones ~ lost about 70% efficiency, but at least it could function without rare resources or constant activation.
The really long-term plan? If anyone in the lineage eventually reached Martial Saint level ~ the realm he didn't reveal when explaining ~ the knowledge would become a bloodline memory seal, passing on automatically without voluntary transfer. Han Chen had only told his parents it was meant for Han Family descendants. The memory would vanish forever if they tried to give it to someone outside their lineage.
They'd had questions, of course. Beyond martial cultivation ~ trying to connect all the supernatural incidents to what had happened to Han Family members. Han Chen's response? Nothing. Just silence.
The transition to Enlightened Grand Master relied more on understanding than raw physical talent. His father managed the breakthrough after nine months of dedicated practice. His mother? Three months after his father started teaching her. He'd gifted them a complete package, so there was much ground to cover.
Which brings us to now, to this moment during his parents' visit to his residence, where his father had finally discovered the true nature of Han Chen's... lifestyle arrangements.
Given everything Han Chen had done for their family, and seeing how content everyone involved seemed to be ~ none of the parties rejecting it in the slightest ~ his father found himself without words of objection.
...
Both parents were far too energetic after realizing their son's genius. Over the years, their perspective about him had quietly changed after seeing how easily he trained them and connecting several other past incidents. Most of that shift came from pride in having something unique and exclusive to them in the whole world.
They both requested a sparring session with him to show their improvement.
In the open area, his father's saber arts and his mother's direct combat style using their momentum played out beautifully.
The saber, holding an almost alive-looking aura remnant, clashed against Han Chen's sword as he parried lightly while simultaneously fending off his mother's advancement with his other hand. Like a patient teacher, he pointed out weaknesses in their technique. He was more or less certain now that they were probably stronger than any century-half old Grand master within the martial framework.
His sister continued cheering for everyone, seeing one of the rare instances she was allowed to witness her loved ones showcasing their powers.
Later, as they moved inside, conversation had quietly shifted to typical family topics while young Ruo Xi played nearby with her sisters-in-law, blissfully unaware of the complex adult dynamics swirling around her. She was six years old now.
...
Speaking of her, she was starting primary school education. She believed her brother was all-powerful, but he had these two girlfriends she initially didn't like because he spent more time with them than with her. How could they take her place? But slowly, jealousy transformed into sisterhood.
taking her to public places to buy dolls, or getting her whatever she wanted ~ Han Chen excelled at being the perfect big brother.
Hye Won always brought her little handbound books filled with fairy tales. Yue Lan would teach her to braid her hair and sneak her tiny spiritual snacks. Maybe it was how the two women never treated her as a nuisance but as someone important and worth caring for. Slowly, the resentment dulled, replaced by a bond as confusing as it was comforting.
She still grumbled sometimes, still claimed he was "hers first," but more often now, she curled up beside them, listening to cultivation bedtime stories that blurred the line between truth and fantasy.
Han Chen, for his part, was unshakably devoted. Whether it was knowing things or telling her stories of 'cultivation,' as he called it, teaching her new skills, a broken toy, a scraped knee, or a sudden obsession with a doll seen in a store window, he addressed every concern with genuine care ~ from choosing to tie his little sister's shoelaces with his own hands to training her how to deal with bullies.
She worshiped him in the way only a little sister could ~ fierce, absolute, and not entirely rational. Even the smallest accomplishment had to be presented to him for approval.
She was intelligent beyond her age, and coupled with Han Chen secretly feeding her refined spiritual fruits, she was strong and healthy far from her years. She'd stayed with him for a year away from her parents because she'd been insistent. Now, as primary school began, she was supposed to go back with their parents.
...
"Gege," she murmured, "can I come back every weekend?"
He didn't open his eyes, but his arm gently wrapped around her shoulders.
"Home is always here for when you need it," he said.
She didn't cry, but he could feel her small hands clenching his robe.
....
Soon, Han Chen and his wives were alone again.
They felt her absence in the coming days, sure, but... well, that feeling quietly went away as they were able to re-engage in quite unrestrained passion and their minor adventures worldwide. Months slipped by like that.
He heard from his parents later that she was quite a bully back in class.