44 Monarch and Subject

The surging wave of fire boiled and roared like an endless river, as if determined to reduce everything in its path to ashes.

"Let's run a test." Liu Hao produced a stone and flicked it lightly, striking Tyrogue squarely on the head.

"Plato, Snow, Piqueber, do you three also intend to fight my Fallen Angel clan to the bitter end?" Lucifer's icy voice rang in their ears, chilling them to the marrow.

"The Azure Sun True Fire and the Heavenly Dry Demonic Flame—with these two fused together, this old man's Stealing Heaven Demonic Art will definitely break through its bottleneck!" At this thought, Ancestor Xuan Gu could not help casting his gaze toward Wei Yan beside him.

The black gateway suddenly erupted with blinding radiance, and the next moment, Charlotte's figure was immobilized and teleported straight out from within it. Mojike watched in utter astonishment, his eyes filled with envy as he gazed at the black portal suspended in the sky.

Originally, he had expected to eliminate Xu Zhe with ease, and dealing with Cao Yu and the others should have been simple as well. Never had he anticipated such an unexpected turn in his plan. He was not afraid of Cao Yu and his companions; his true dread was Zhou Yingying. Once Zhou Yingying managed to escape alive, a full-scale war between the third and fourth families would be inevitable.

Upon returning to the Golden Valley Garden and learning that Tantai Mingyue had already retired for the night, he kept his thoughts to himself, simply reflecting on how remarkably eventful that single day had been.

"A true man's word is as steadfast as a tripod. Do you not know that breaking faith violates the eighth rule of our society, which demands the amputation of a hand and a foot?" Chen Jinnan said.

When the primal energy arrow landed behind Ding Peng, it detonated instantly, shattering the stone slabs on the ground into countless fragments.

The flower envoy gently raised her hand, a silver-gleaming dagger poised with its sharp blade resting against the rope beside her.

"Why make such a big fuss about it?" Yu Fengkuan disgustedly bit off a piece of his freshly clipped fingernail.

The Winding Cup Pavilion in the palace was specifically designed for spring purification banquets and banqueting. Taking advantage of the artificially sculpted terrain, the waters of the Dragon Leap Pond were diverted into meandering stream channels, alongside which low stone platforms and rockery islets had been ingeniously arranged for people to sit or recline upon.

The Scarlet Water Dragon? Why would he impeach him without any apparent reason? A thought suddenly flashed through Qingyu's mind.

***

The rain had stopped, and the sky cleared up once more. The earth lay in quiet stillness, and everything appeared utterly peaceful.

This was clearly a case of silencing a witness to cover up the crime. Who could possibly pull off such a deed within the imperial palace? Counting them on one's fingers, there were very few capable of it—was it a remnant of Zhang Ye's faction, or a consort from one of the palace chambers?

The vast majority of people had placed their wagers on the death-sworn warriors of the Wei family, though the individual bets were relatively modest, mostly kept below fifty thousand spiritual stones.

The relevant instructor looked utterly incredulous, loudly demanding that Zhao Xiaoxiang provide a clear explanation, while the unrelated instructors stood by watching the commotion, quietly awaiting how the matter would unfold.

"It's fine. He won't retract his confession in court. At worst, once he gets sent to prison and has time to let it sink in, he might petition for a retrial."

Hearing his words, I was deeply moved. Lifting my head with tears in my eyes, I locked my gaze onto his, and within those eyes, I clearly saw love. I believed that he truly loved me.

In truth, this was also a test set by the Sha family of the City Lord's Mansion for their future successor, to see whether he possessed the ability to keep the younger generation of Blood Sand City in line and thereby uphold the prestige of the City Lord's Mansion in the days to come.

Consequently, they secretly intensified the search and inspection efforts at Like City to prevent any recurrence of such incidents. Fortunately, the days that followed remained calm and peaceful, free from any anomalies. Relieved by this, the higher-ups of Like City finally put their minds at rest and wholeheartedly dedicated themselves to preparing for the celebration.

Wuxing turned back, casting a gloomy look at Meng Yaoyao as he snapped, "Go inside first." Seeing that Wuxing was angry, Meng Yaoyao pouted, stuck her tongue out at his retreating back, offered an apologetic smile to Jinqing, and then turned to step inside the house.

Yan Qing also felt a sense of embarrassment, unable to fathom why she had broken down in tears before a stranger. She could only cover her face with both hands, letting out low sobs as she desperately tried to check herself. Yet, the overwhelming urge to weep proved impossible to suppress, and tears continued to drip down relentlessly, thoroughly alarming Su Zige.

Gao Mohan had also sensed this peculiarity, finding it truly baffling why he always felt that, although Qingyuan treated Rong Yixia with cold detachment, there was persistently an indescribable, different undertone to it all.

"To be honest, before coming to Egypt, I too believed that there was never a target in this world I could not assassinate with a single strike. Yet now, I am forced to admit that regarding this target, I haven't the slightest bit of confidence!" the voice continued.

"How could this happen?" Chang'an cried out in alarm, feeling as though his heart could no longer bear the strain and was about to leap straight out of his chest. He simply could not believe that Changning, whose condition had just shown signs of improvement, had relapsed back to her previous state.

***

"Xiaoxiao, we're moving next week. Make sure to keep an eye on your belongings then and don't let anything get lost," Grandma Lin advised from her seat on the bed as soon as they stepped through the door.

When Chen Mingtong was born, he brought forth an overwhelming pressure due to the sheer force of his transdimensional arrival, stunning everyone present—including the man who was officially registered as his grandfather on the household registry and currently playing the role of his convenient elder.

Sigh... This is troublesome. Having Qian'ai-chan witness me being so violent just now is bound to leave a terrible impression. But wait, young man, is that a look of someone craving to be dominated?

Reciting a line of poetry from his past life involuntarily, he was just about to pick up his chopsticks when a gentle voice interrupted him.

Seeing that all four of them were barely breathing, he flicked his right hand, instantly dissolving the immortal-grade instrument of lingering resonance he had been supporting on his left palm. Pointing his slender fingers at the four once more, the dreamlike technique activated in an instant, reducing the quartet to mere fish upon a chopping board.

Yet she herself cared not a whit about how unsightly she looked, nor did the person before her find her appearance ugly in the least. As their gazes met, Dige beheld his own face reflected in her tear-shining eyes.

"I'm not picky," Zhao Ziyue said, dodging Manny's somewhat ambiguous gaze as he took the initiative to step forward and knock on the door.

"I dodge! The same trick won't work twice on a Saint!" Zhang Wei, who had previously been ambushed, had already been on his guard. Ducking aside, he bolted out the door in two strides.

Seeing that he had already arrived at the school, Chen Xue spoke up earnestly from the side. Under the current circumstances, all she could do was offer him a proper warning beforehand to spare him any subsequent trouble.

The scout swallowed hard, his frame trembling slightly; the slight shivering of his teeth was plainly evident and impossible to conceal.

Through the relentless pursuit, Lao Jiu could be said to have utterly shattered the courage of the Russians. Just like Genghis Khan charging northward in days of old, no one could possibly block his path. Even the Russians stationed outside had all fled back to the safety of Melbourne.