Fang Yuan moved instantly.

One arm held the confused little girl while the other wrapped around Lin Zhaoyue’s waist before she could take another step forward.

"Zhaoyue."

He called out softly, hoping she would listen.

Lin Zhaoyue actually stopped.

"She’s just a child," Fang Yuan said.

Her eyes locked onto the little girl still clinging to him.

"She asked me if I was your big sister." Lin Zhaoyue’s voice grew softer and softer. "As though I’m not your woman."

Fang Yuan sighed inwardly before lowering his head toward the little girl in his arms.

"From now on," he said calmly, "call her Mother."

The entire hall froze while the little girl blinked. "Mother?"

Fang Yuan nodded once before pointing at himself.

"And call me Father."

This time, Lin Zhaoyue reacted instantly.

All traces of killing intent vanished from her body so abruptly that several elders nearly coughed blood from the sudden shift in pressure.

Her darkened eyes widened slightly.

"You..." she began, staring at Fang Yuan. "You intend to adopt her?"

Disbelief filled her voice.

Fang Yuan looked at her helplessly. "What else am I supposed to do?"

Lin Zhaoyue immediately turned toward the little girl.

Then back toward Fang Yuan.

Then back again.

Her thoughts visibly descended into chaos.

"B-But..." she said, actually stammering for once, "she wasn’t born from me."

The hall fell silent once more.

Meanwhile, Fang Yuan simply looked at Lin Zhaoyue and replied calmly,

"Neither was Fang Lian, yet you still made her call you Mother."

A deadly silence descended, then the terrifying aura from before vanished completely.

Replaced by pure, unrestrained joy.

Lin Zhaoyue slowly lowered her head, covering the lower half of her face with her sleeve, but the corners of her lips were already curling upward uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the little girl tilted her head innocently before looking at Lin Zhaoyue.

"...Mother?"

Lin Zhaoyue’s entire body trembled.

In less than a blink, she appeared beside the little girl and gently grabbed her shoulders with frightening tenderness.

"Yes," she said softly.

Too softly.

"So obedient already."

The little girl smiled brightly.

"Mother!"

Lin Zhaoyue’s expression melted completely.

Her eyes even grew slightly moist.

The terrifying sect matriarch who had frozen the hall and terrified countless elders moments ago now looked one sentence away from ascending on the spot from happiness.

Then she suddenly pulled the child into her embrace and shot Fang Yuan a radiant smile.

"Our daughter is adorable."

Lin Zhaoyue continued holding the little girl tightly while the little girl blinked innocently in her embrace while curiously poking the jade ornament hanging from Lin Zhaoyue’s waist.

Lin Zhaoyue stared at her for several long seconds.

Then, with unprecedented seriousness, she spoke.

"She needs a name."

The elders who had yet to fully recover from the earlier emotional whiplash instantly became alert again.

Lin Zhaoyue lowered her gaze toward the child in her arms.

The little girl looked back at her without the slightest fear.

After a moment of silence, Lin Zhaoyue’s cold expression softened once more.

"Fang Qingyue," she said quietly.

The little girl tilted her head. "Qingyue?"

Lin Zhaoyue nodded slowly.

"Qing for clarity. Yue for moon." Her fingers gently brushed the girl’s hair. "From today onward, you are Fang Qingyue."

The little girl’s eyes lit up immediately.

"I have a name now?"

"Mhm."

Lin Zhaoyue’s voice became absurdly gentle.

"You are our daughter now."

Fang Yuan watched the entire scene in silence before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

The same woman who had nearly frozen the entire hall with killing intent moments ago was now carefully adjusting the little girl’s sleeves like someone would when handling a priceless treasure.

The difference was so extreme it almost gave him a headache.

And then it actually did.

A sudden wave of dizziness struck Fang Yuan’s mind and his vision blurred slightly.

At the same time, the system notification echoed within his consciousness.

[ Partial control over the Tianxun Realm has been handed over to you. ]

Fang Yuan’s expression changed slightly.

He did not even have time to question how the system managed to accomplish it as a massive amount of information suddenly surged into his mind alongside an overwhelming connection to the surrounding world itself.

The spiritual qi within the realm trembled.

Fang Yuan immediately sat down in a lotus position.

Spiritual qi from every direction rapidly began converging toward him like rivers flowing into the sea.

The pressure within the hall instantly changed and Lin Zhaoyue’s expression sharpened.

Without hesitation, she turned toward everyone else.

"Out."

Her voice was calm yet nobody dared hesitate.

The elders instantly fled from the hall as though granted amnesty from death itself.

Within moments, the massive hall became completely empty.

Lin Zhaoyue remained standing beside Fang Yuan while holding Fang Qingyue in her arms.

Her earlier joy faded into cold vigilance.

Just then...

"Mother."

Fang Qingyue’s soft voice echoed through the hall.

Lin Zhaoyue immediately lowered her head. "What is it?"

The little girl pointed toward Fang Yuan, and said.

"I can help Father take control of the realm."

Lin Zhaoyue blinked.

"Control over the realm?"

Genuine surprise appeared on her face.

And then, suddenly the realization struck her.

Her eyes widened slightly before slowly turning toward Fang Yuan.

"Of course it is..."

Her voice became quieter.

"You never fail to surprise me."

There was a strange mixture of helplessness, pride, and disbelief in her gaze as she stared at him.

After several seconds, she finally lowered her head toward Fang Qingyue again.

"Go help your Father."

Fang Qingyue nodded obediently and was just about to climb down from Lin Zhaoyue’s embrace when Lin Zhaoyue stopped her immediately.

"Wait."

The little girl blinked.

Lin Zhaoyue’s expression turned unusually serious.

"You may help him," she said calmly, "but you are not allowed to touch him unnecessarily."

Fang Qingyue tilted her head innocently. "Why?"

Lin Zhaoyue narrowed her eyes slightly before answering without the slightest shame,

"Because he is mine."

The little girl blinked several times.

Then she nodded with complete seriousness.

"Okay, Mother."

Only then did Lin Zhaoyue finally allow her down.

Fang Qingyue quickly ran toward Fang Yuan before sitting carefully in front of him.

And just as promised, she did not touch him.

Instead, the little girl closed her eyes.

In the next instant, the entire Tianxun Realm trembled faintly.

The surrounding spiritual qi suddenly became incomparably gentler, no longer violently rushing into Fang Yuan’s body but smoothly circulating around him like a guided river.

Even the unstable fluctuations in space gradually calmed.

Lin Zhaoyue watched the scene silently from behind.

Then her gaze slowly softened.

One was her husband and the other was their daughter.

For the first time in today’s meeting, the hall actually felt warm.