# Chapter 3390: Senior Brother
Seeing Senior Brother again, looking from afar, many old memories surfaced in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
That year, outside the Yin-Yang Hall.
"Little Junior Brother, quickly retreat! They have tampered with my head..."
"Run, run!"
"Little Junior Brother, don't worry about us... Leave immediately. We'll be siblings in the next life... Perhaps there is no next life..."
At the gate of the Yin-Yang Hall, the voices of Second Senior Brother Zhu Hongtao, Third Senior Brother Wan Ke, and Fifth Senior Sister Lingshu as they faced death echoed in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
The blood-deep hatred between Zhang Ruochen and the Heavenly Realm Faction was forged at that moment, reaching a point of no return where neither side would rest until the other was destroyed.
It was as if he could also see the time when he first gathered with his senior brothers and senior sisters.
Second Senior Brother's words, "I am willing to be Little Junior Brother's guardian, protecting Little Junior Brother for thirty years." Third Senior Brother gifted the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, claiming he "no longer had use for it."
Senior Brother was silent and spoke little, not good at expressing himself, but he gave a forbidden military weapon, a Refinement Warrior.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen truly felt a profound bond of affection, sincere and pure, untainted by any interests. He was loved and cared for.
Times had changed. Now, among all the senior brothers and senior sisters, only Senior Brother was still alive, having started a family with children.
A warm current surged in Zhang Ruochen's heart, and the regret of being powerless to prevent his senior brothers and senior sisters from dying before his eyes was soothed by a trace of comfort.
Chi Xingtian sensed Zhang Ruochen's emotional fluctuation and asked, "You know him?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "We should change our forms and hide our identities."
"That is necessary."
The next instant, divine light flashed over Zhang Ruochen and Chi Xingtian, their appearances drastically changed, and they donned a set of sacred armor. On the armor were the marks of Kunlun Realm soldiers.
...
"Azure Sky Great Saint!"
A call came from the clouds.
Azure Sky Great Saint, standing at the bow of the ship, looked up.
He saw two sacred realm soldiers from Kunlun Realm flying over. When they drew near, they condensed into two human forms, both with cultivation reaching the Nine-Step Saint King realm.
Azure Sky Great Saint stopped the warship, not immediately activating the defensive formation light shield on the ship, and asked warily, "How should I address you two?"
Although Kunlun Realm had revived, various resources had exploded, making cultivation easier than before. Coupled with the existence of time-space treasures like the Heavenly Wheel Seal and the Sword Pavilion, in the past thousand years, sacred realm powerhouses had sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain.
But Azure Sky Great Saint had always been active on the front lines of battle. He was familiar with the vast majority of cultivators above the Saint King realm in Kunlun Realm.
The two before him were too unfamiliar; he had never seen them before.
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands and said, "Eastern Domain, Bright Sect, Zhang Hongke."
Chi Xingtian was truly unwilling to act so deferentially before a Great Saint, but to hide his identity, he could only say indifferently, "Eastern Domain, Bright Sect, Zhang Hongtian."
Seeing Azure Sky Great Saint's caution and the lingering doubt in his eyes, Zhang Ruochen directly transmitted his voice: "Senior Brother, it's me!"
Azure Sky Great Saint was visibly stunned for a moment, then a joyful gleam appeared in his eyes, and he immediately prepared to open the defensive formation.
The palace-robed woman beside him stopped him, saying, "There are reports from the Martial Market that the Heavenly Realm will soon carry out retaliatory actions. It's better to be cautious with unfamiliar cultivators. They are just two Saint Kings; you, a Great Saint, can simply ignore them."
Azure Sky Great Saint knew that Zhang Ruochen taking the risk to come to the Starry Sky Defense Line and secretly revealing his identity was a great sign of trust in him, his senior brother.
At the same time, considering Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation level, the fact that he would still take the initiative to visit stirred both excitement and many emotions in Azure Sky Great Saint's heart.
It was inconvenient for him to explain to his wife, so he said, "The Eastern Domain Bright Sect has deep foundations and is mysterious and unfathomable. It's not strange for two unfamiliar Saint Kings to appear. Besides, this is the Starry Sky Defense Line, the Thousand Star Civilization Great World. Nothing unexpected will happen."
Ignoring the dissuasion, Azure Sky Great Saint brought Zhang Ruochen and Chi Xingtian onto the sacred ship.
Azure Sky Great Saint carefully examined Zhang Ruochen, his expression complex, tears nearly welling up in his eyes. He stepped forward and firmly grasped Zhang Ruochen's hand, but could say nothing.
Once he spoke, who knew if those God Kings and God Venerables might sense it?
He was a Great Saint, not a deity, and even transmitting his voice required caution.
The palace-robed woman could only see his back, not his expression or eyes, and felt quite displeased. Two Saint Kings, upon meeting a Great Saint, should at least kneel on one knee, but the basic courtesies couldn't be omitted, could they?
Too lacking in manners!
She attributed this to the arrogance and rudeness of the Eastern Domain Bright Sect.
Zhang Ruochen was also deeply moved and smiled, "Azure Sky Great Saint is going to attend Luo Xu True God's Ascension Banquet, right? We two are also going. I wonder if it's on the way?"
"On the way, naturally it is on the way."
After all, he was a Great Saint, so Azure Sky quickly regained his composure.
The palace-robed woman said coldly, "This place is not far from Kongya City. The two Saint Kings could fly there quite quickly."
Azure Sky Great Saint's expression turned slightly unnatural. The once decisive and resolute tough guy showed a softer side in front of his wife and daughter.
Zhang Ruochen, as if completely unaware of the unwelcome tone, maintained a proper smile and said, "Great Saint, won't you introduce us? How should we address these two?"
"Come, follow me."
Azure Sky cast an apologetic glance at Zhang Ruochen, then turned around, his face already beaming with smiles. He pulled Zhang Ruochen over and said, "This is my wife, Beigong Jingting!"
"From the Martial God Mountain, Beigong Clan?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Azure Sky nodded and said, "And this is my daughter, Qingjing! Qing'er, why don't you pay your respects to your... Uncle Hongke?"
Azure Sky knew that Zhang Ruochen's alias "Hongke" was to commemorate his two deceased junior brothers, and he was deeply moved.
To hold a high position without forgetting old ties—many people could say such words, but few could actually do it.
Beigong Jingting wore a somewhat arrogant expression and said, "Qing'er's maternal aunt is the Female War God, and her father is the military commander of the First Central Empire. With such noble status, why should she bow to two Saint Kings?"
Azure Sky felt that his wife had gone too far today, and all his good mood vanished in an instant.
Even if the person opposite him were not his junior brother or a deity, but a Saint King who had come to guard the Starry Sky Defense Line and dared to face the Hell Realm army, he was still worthy of friendship and respect.
How could she be so dismissive?
What was the Female War God? She was still only a half-deity.
Zhang Ruochen did not want to cause trouble for his senior brother's family, so he quickly waved his hand and smiled, "No need to bow. We are all sacred realm cultivators; there's no need for such formality."
To Beigong Jingting's ears, Zhang Ruochen's words were grating. A Saint King had the right to say such a thing?
Azure Sky understood Zhang Ruochen's good intentions and gave Beigong Jingting a cold glare before saying, "Brothers Zhang, come with me into the sacred ship for a good drink."
Seeing them enter the sacred ship, Beigong Jingting said displeasedly, "A Great Saint is the king of the sacred realm, and a military commander should display absolute authority. Calling two Saint Kings brothers—your father is regressing as he ages!"
Qingjing had no interest in status or such things for now. Her eyes were filled only with curiosity, and she said, "That person from the Bright Sect Zhang family is said to be Father's junior brother. Perhaps that's why Father has a special fondness for the Zhang clan's descendants."
Beigong Jingting was unimpressed.
Of course, she knew about the relationship between Azure Sky and Zhang Ruochen. But Zhang Ruochen was now a famous divine realm overlord across the universe, an unimaginably transcendent existence. How could such a figure still pay attention to the mundane world?
This connection, whether it existed or not, made no difference.
On the contrary, it might bring deadly disaster.
Inside the sacred ship.
Chi Xingtian unfolded his Divine Realm World, covering an area of several zhang.
Zhang Ruochen introduced, "Senior Brother, this is Qingli King, Xingtian Great God. He has come to secretly oversee the Ascension Banquet, to prevent anyone from using the occasion to cause trouble."
Azure Sky Great Saint's eyes showed reverence, and he immediately bowed. Such a figure was someone he would normally have no right to pay respects to.
Chi Xingtian naturally had to give face to Zhang Ruochen and said, "Don't bow. You are Zhang Ruochen's senior brother; we can treat each other as equals. This is my divine token. If you encounter difficulties in the future, you can use it to find me at Demon Ridge. Of course, if you can find Zhang Ruochen, it's better to find him. I'm rather averse to trouble!"
Azure Sky knew that accepting Chi Xingtian's divine token would put Zhang Ruochen in debt, not himself, so he looked at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, "Senior Brother, take it quickly! In the future, I will likely spend most of my time away from Kunlun Realm. If something comes up, go to Xingtian Great God. Don't stand on ceremony with him."
Azure Sky did not put on airs and accepted the divine token.
Chi Xingtian grinned and laughed, "Zhang Ruochen, that's not fair! You have a treasure trove of valuables that even God Kings and God Venerables covet, yet you're so stingy with your own senior brother. No wonder that sister-in-law of yours looks at you with such displeasure."
Azure Sky said solemnly, "My wife was born into the Beigong Clan and is the younger sister of the Female War God. She is simply too accustomed to being arrogant. If she has offended in any way, Azure Sky offers his apologies here."
Chi Xingtian nodded inwardly. A man who could take his wife's mistakes upon himself—that sense of responsibility was truly rare.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It's not entirely Sister-in-law's fault. After all, she was thinking of Senior Brother's prestige. Our identities as two Saint Kings were indeed a slight to a Great Saint! Enough of that. Where's the wine? Didn't you say we would drink to our hearts' content?"
"Wine? There's plenty!" Azure Sky laughed heartily.
...
By the time they reached Kongya City, the three of them were reeking of alcohol.
As they descended from the sacred ship and arrived outside the True God's Mansion, they encountered two old men who were even more drunk.