I am extremely sorry for the late chapter. I started working and my office is damn far so I had very less time to concentrate on continuing the fanfic. But, I relocated nearby so I have more free time now which makes it better for me to write more.
Also, thank you for all the people who supported Martial Emperor Reborn even in my long absence from Fanfiction. I truly appreciate it and was my primary motivation to continue the fanfic.
Li Ning paced towards his house on the busy streets of the Iris city ignoring the noise from his surroundings, his face was stoic. But his heart was beating like drums inside. He was out for several weeks due to a simple clan work and on his way back, he received the information that his son was seriously injured and in a life or death situation.
He was born of a high ranking Li clan member and a servant girl, so he was ridiculed his entire life. His father, although condemned by the clan for his actions did not throw him and his mother away and gave them a place in the clan. But with his mediocre talent, no matter how much he strived, he couldn't even reach 2nd layer of convergence realm.
His father, although did not spend time with him, still helped his family from the shadows. He also had a genius little sister born from a different mother who cared for him deeply and helped his family in any way she could. Although his life was not as grand as other Li clan members, he was still satisfied with what he had.
One day he saved a poor widow from being raped from some evil men and fell in love with her. They got married happily and she bore him three children, two boys and a little girl.
His only regret was that he was too weak to stand together with his father and sister who was hailed to be the best talent of their generation. And that weakness brought his sister's downfall and his family lost the final strong link they had to the Li Clan.
Fortunately for his family, his youngest son showed incredible innate talent in the Clan test and was recognized as a genius by the higher-ups and proposed they will nurture him within the clan.
He was very happy. His eldest son although without a good innate talent, was hardworking. He reached 4th layer of convergence realm at just 20, a talent comparable with the clan geniuses.
But everything went downhill when his second son Li Xuan was engaged to that damnable Lisa. His son completely changed after that day. He became a slave to her providing everything she asked. And because of his arrogance and stupidity, he was crippled, his cultivation ruined for life.
The word spread like wildfire and when the people who Li Xuan had offended in the past found out. The attacked and crippled his eldest son Li Mo too.
His only daughter ran away due to some evil scheme by the same girl. His family fell apart just because of one girl.
Did he hate his son? No, he was just a child brainwashed by a girl and got his life ruined. He felt pity for his son, his blind devotion to his lover clouded his judgement. He was disappointed not only with his son but also himself who could not protect his son. Just as his son was blinded by foolish love, he was blinded by vengeance. If only he could go back in time, he would put his son in line even if he had to slap him in the face. But regretting it now was foolish and as his father, he had to bear all the burden and responsibility of his family.
Did he hate the Li Clan for what they did to his family? No, he knew that was how it worked in a big clan with thousands of members. The strong gets chosen and the weak are left behind. Even though the Li clan was the largest in Iris city, they were not almighty. With the limited resources they procured throughout the year, they had to chose the very best talent to raise and bring their clan to greater heights.
His enemies were far greater and stronger than them. There are many sects and clans out there that could massacre the Li Clan overnight.
Even then, he refused to give up as he held a tiny glimmer of hope that he could save his son and heal him.
So in order to get his revenge for destroying his sister's life, he had to get back into the Li Clan. Therefore, he was working to the bones to plead the clan to bestow him a 'Heavenly Reversal Pill' or an 'Elemental Elixir' which might help his son get back his innate talent.
These medicines did not guarantee that his son would be healed, but he had no other choice. His son was his only hope and he was ready to take any chance to help him.
He only wished that he had matured after his betrayal from his past lover and focus on getting stronger.
He sprinted to his house as fast as he could, pushing the front door open and barged right in finding something unexpected.
A blonde teenager stood in the hall holding a row of folded clothes staring at him surprised at the sudden visitor.
The staring contest between the two went for ten seconds stopped by the blonde.
"Hello! Are you here to meet mother?" the boy asked with vigor stunning the man.
' Oh! The dead guy's Dad is home. Isn't it a bit soon?' Naruto lips twitched as he pondered while trying his best to maintain his smile.
A pang of jealousy hit Naruto as he gazed at the man's anxious expression.
'Why do these people care about that piece of trash anyway? They should be scorning him for destroying their lives. I don't understand them.'
The said man analyzed the boy in front of him. With his is exotic eyes and hair color, he clearly was not a resident of Iris city, adding to that his mannerism and the way he portrayed himself was not something a slum dweller was capable of. He wondered where the boy could have come from. The boy intrigued him, but this wasn't the time to think about these things and went back to the matters at hand.
'Did I barge into a stranger's house in hurry?'
" I-I'm sorry, It seems I have barged into the wrong house." He apologized with a bow and went out.
Outside, He looked around the surroundings. The slum they stayed had similar houses built all over, so it was quite casual to make mistakes. But this time, he was sure he was not mistaken, there was a complete stranger in his house!
'And did he just say mother?' He thought, his face incredulous.
He silently pondered over the possible scenarios leading to this situation.
'Could the boy be a visitor staying in his house with his mother.'
Or the more disturbing one.
His family was kicked out and replaced by the boy's family.
I wasn't uncommon in such scenarios in the slum. With both his sons crippled, his frail wife could easily be pressured to vacate the house by others.
"Oh! Li Ning?" A female voice came from his back. Li Ning turned around to find his neighbor getting home from her work.
"Why are you staring blankly at your house?" She asked.
"I actually saw an unknown boy in there so I thought that I mistook my house. Ms. Yu, do you know who he is?" He asked.
" Everybody in the neighborhood knows him. he is a very good child who helps around and the children loves having him around. It's been quite lively in this dark and depressing place ever since he arrived. As for who he is... you should go inside and find out yourself." She said chuckling and went on her way.
With a bewildered look he steeled himself and re-entered his house, and saw the boy still standing at the door.
Naruto had not moved from the spot since he knew that Li Ning will certainly come back.
The blonde noticed him and asked politely, "Hello again. Did you find the house you were looking for?"
"Um, yes and no. Actually the house I was looking for was this one." Li Ning replied
"Is that so?" The blonde questioned tilting his head.
"If you don't mind me asking. Can you please tell me how long have you and your mother been living here? My family lives here."
Considering the blonde's refined manners and the words of Ms. Yu, he could deduce that he really was a good kid if not a terrifyingly good actor.
He saw the blonde's eyes widen when he heard that. Before the boy could speak, the father and fake son pair heard a familiar voice.
"Xuan, is someone at the door?"
A woman entered the scene wiping her hand with a napkin.
"Yue?!" Lin Ning exclaimed.
Siqin Danyue's face beamed meeting her husband after a long time and strode towards him giving him a tight hug.
"Why are you standing at the door? Get inside since I have some happy news to tell you. Mo, your father's home, come greet him." She shouted as she pulled his arm forcefullt making him trip.
Naruto laughed mildly and followed them inside.
Inside, Li Ning sat at a chair Siqin Danyue in front of him and Naruto standing next to her.
"So tell me what is the news and who is this boy?" Li Ning asked with a serious expression which was reciprocated by his wife.
"Ning, I want you to listen to what I say completely and not interfere in between. Because most of it will be hard to believe." She said with a stern look.
Li Ning nodded and prepared himself for the news as she began speaking.
"It all started when Xuan met Lisa when he went outside and she said something humiliating to him. Distraught by her words, he pierced his chest with a knife and committed suicide. When his body was delivered to me, I became terrified and ran with all my strength to seek help from Ning Xuan. She used her spells and even used a 3rd diffusion realm magical beast core to heal him and restored his wounds."
Li Ning sighed in relief that his son was saved.
"But right after that, Xuan's body miraculously caught fire and started burning."
Li Ning's face went pale when he got this news, his body shuddering holding the armrest to keep his balance.
"I was terrified and quickly ran towards him but Ning Xuan stopped me before I get myself hurt. Unexpectedly, the fire did not hurt him and condensed around him slowly creeping into him."
Siqin Danyue smiled and pointed at Naruto and then said, "And... This happened."
Li Ning gave an quizzical look to the mysterious blonde who returned it with a wry smile. Naruto let his mother do all the explaining to his dad. He was never good at explaining things to others anyway.
"What?" He asked softly, his face still pale. He wanted to shout out, ask her what happened to their son. But relief swept through him when he looked at her smile, his wife loved Li Xuan more than anything and she would never smile like that if he was dead. However, he still could not get the aggravating feeling off his mind.
"The flames changed his appearance and turned him into this." She finished her explanation and waited for his reply.
Li Ning's eyes widened when he heard the last part. "Wait?... You mean this boy is our son Xuan? But how can that be? he did not even recognize me when I entered the house." He sent a barrage of questions at his wife.
The son he remembered was very different from the blonde. Appearance aside, the original Li Xuan was arrogant and looked down on others even when his magic roots were destroyed. No one who knew him would believe the boy in front of him is the same boy who they once thought as 'a fallen contemptuous fool.'
" That was a side-effect of his injuries. He suffered massive blood loss so he lost his memories. It was hard for me to accept it too, but I can not help but believe the change when it happened right in front of my eyes." She looked straight at his eyes and pulled Naruto by her side.
"Ning, this boy is our son Li Xuan."
The release frequency might be low, but please bear with me until I feel comfortable with my new schedule.
Thank you, and as always, please review and if there are any errors, please point it out so that I could see my flaws.