She is My Senior Sister

The commotion on the Celestial Street was just a minor incident.

No one dared to ask Emperor Zhou what had happened, especially since he himself said it was nothing.

However, for the rest of the journey along Celestial Street, Emperor Zhou became less talkative. His already somber expression grew even more gloomy, as if he was pondering something.

Zhou Jia's eyes no longer wandered aimlessly; he kept his head down obediently as he walked.

This left the other cultivators perplexed, but they didn't dare to inquire, so they just went along with it.

The group quickly made their way towards the interior of the Ancestral Star. The cultivators at the bottom of Celestial Street were still somewhat reluctant to leave, excitedly discussing these important figures, maintaining the gradually dissipating bustle.

Bai Lu's eyes flashed with admiration as he sighed.

"How impressive. Just glimpsing Emperor Zhou's back made me feel an inexplicable pressure. So this is the imposing aura of a great cultivator."

"Of course! This is Emperor Zhou we're talking about, one of the top-ranked Heaven Mending Realm cultivators in the entire star region. And he's even among the best of the Heaven Mending Realm cultivators!"

A fellow cultivator chimed in with admiration.

For small fry like them, being able to see a powerhouse like Emperor Zhou once in their lifetime was already something they could brag about for years to come.

"Even if we spent our entire lives cultivating, we probably couldn't reach their level, right?" Bai Lu shook his head and sighed.

"Definitely not. Emperor Zhou was a renowned prodigy in his youth, considered one of the top candidates to become the next Great Emperor of this era. Our skills aren't even worthy of polishing Emperor Zhou's shoes."

These minor cultivators were quite self-aware.

"By the way, where's Chen Xia? Isn't he going to watch?" A neighboring alchemist curiously asked Bai Lu.

"He never likes watching these things, you know that," Bai Lu replied with a shrug.

"Sigh, one should broaden their horizons more. What's the use of playing chess all day? His chess skills haven't improved one bit."

"Well, you can't say that. At least he's come up with more ways to cheat. Don't you remember last time when he secretly took two of your rooks, claiming your chariots were impounded for speeding?"

"Indeed, I've never seen anyone play chess like that before. Even in a game of Five-in-a-Row, he insists on taking two extra turns, saying he pulled off a combo move."

"..."

The surrounding cultivators discussed Chen Xia's abysmal chess skills and poor sportsmanship.

Bai Lu didn't want to get involved, so he slipped back to the small house. Seeing Chen Xia still lying in the rocking chair, he chuckled and asked,

"Why do you dislike watching great cultivators so much?"

"Because it's a complete waste of time," Chen Xia sat up from the rocking chair, looked at Bai Lu, then rested his head on his hand and shook it, saying,

"Rather than watching them, I'd rather get some extra rest."

"You really are strange," Bai Lu shook his head helplessly, then sat down cross-legged, preparing to meditate and cultivate.

He wanted to take the entrance exams for other sects on the Ancestral Star, first becoming a sect disciple, then slowly catching up to Rain Lord and Hao Lin's footsteps. He also wanted to make a name for himself on this Ancestral Star, at least achieving something of note.

Chen Xia rubbed his eyes and looked at the sky again.

Faint dark clouds floated in the azure sky.

It could be considered good weather.

Chen Xia tilted his head, glanced at Bai Lu who was cultivating diligently, and not knowing what else to do, simply lay back down in the rocking chair to wait for Chi Yu to come out of seclusion.

The dark clouds hung in the sky many times.

Chen Xia just kept lying there. If he didn't use his innate abilities, he was essentially no different from an ordinary person, except for his infinite lifespan and unchanging appearance.

He had no cultivation base and couldn't use spiritual sense to probe his surroundings, so he couldn't detect any movements outside.

Therefore, it wasn't until he heard footsteps at the door that he realized someone had arrived.

"Who is it?" Bai Lu called out curiously, sending out his Golden Core Realm spiritual sense to investigate. His expression suddenly froze.

He sensed an immense spiritual presence outside, as vast as the ocean. With just a slight movement, it could easily crush him to death.

But there was something even more perplexing - this enormous spiritual presence seemed to shrink back, appearing somewhat timid and afraid, not daring to approach his own spiritual sense at all.

Bai Lu was stunned for a moment before hurriedly going to open the door. When he saw the visitors' faces, he was completely dumbfounded, standing motionless in place.

He recognized the visitors - it was Emperor Zhou and the Elder Princess who had walked down Celestial Street a few days ago!

Emperor Zhou wore a gentle smile and carried exquisite gifts. He apologetically said to Bai Lu,

"Sorry for the sudden visit. I hope we're not disturbing you?"

"No... not at all... How did you..." Bai Lu stammered, not knowing how to express himself.

"It's alright, take your time, there's no rush," Emperor Zhou quickly said, his gaze sweeping through the small house, landing on Chen Xia lying in the rocking chair. His eyes narrowed again.

Bai Lu finally regained his composure and gestured inside, hurriedly saying, "Please, come in."

Emperor Zhou and Zhou Jia were ushered in by Bai Lu.

Chen Xia was still sprawled awkwardly in the rocking chair.

Bai Lu kept trying to catch Chen Xia's eye, signaling him to mind his manners, but Chen Xia simply didn't get up. He even rolled over in the rocking chair.

With his eyes practically squinted shut from all the hinting, Bai Lu saw he couldn't rouse Chen Xia and had to speak up.

"Chen Xia, we have guests. Why don't you go get some wine and food?"

Chen Xia turned to look at him.

Bai Lu frantically made eye signals again.

So Chen Xia impatiently gave Emperor Zhou a look.

"Food, right, I should bring some wine and food. Look at how absentminded I am, forgetting even this. How inconsiderate of me. I'll go get some, please wait a moment!"

Emperor Zhou hurriedly said, while putting on a hood to conceal his identity and spiritual presence, then went out to actually buy wine and food.

"This..." Bai Lu's mouth hung slightly open, at a loss for words.

He looked towards Zhou Jia, who seemed somewhat nervous as she watched Chen Xia, while Chen Xia boredly stared at the sky.

Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was too awkward, Bai Lu took the initiative to ask, "Why... why did you two come here? Of course, I don't mean you're not welcome, you're very welcome, I'm just... just a bit curious."

His words were nervous and unclear.

Zhou Jia didn't know how to respond either, so she could only look at Chen Xia, afraid of saying something wrong that might displease him.

"She's my senior sister," Chen Xia said flatly.

The scene fell silent again.

Bai Lu's brain had already crashed, unable to process this information for the moment.

After a while, Bai Lu looked at Zhou Jia with a questioning gaze.

"Yes... that's right, he's my junior brother," Zhou Jia hurriedly nodded in response.

"No wonder," Bai Lu muttered to himself.

No wonder he felt Chen Xia was extraordinary, no wonder Chen Xia had such a remarkable aura. So that's how it was.

So Chen Xia was actually an important figure too.

Bai Lu sighed, genuinely happy for Chen Xia.

"You guys can chat, I'm going to rest," Chen Xia didn't want to get involved in their conversation and went to sleep first.

Left to chat, Bai Lu and Zhou Jia managed a fairly cordial conversation, though most of it revolved around Chen Xia, with both of them frequently glancing his way.

"How did you and Chen Xia meet?" Zhou Jia suddenly asked.

The door opened.

Emperor Zhou had just returned with the wine.

Bai Lu smiled lightly and said, "We met on a ferry several decades ago. He asked me to play chess with him, and afterwards, since neither of us had anywhere to go, we started living together as chess buddies."

Emperor Zhou nodded slightly, elevating Bai Lu's status in his heart considerably, just one step below Chen Xia's father's generation - he was now considered part of the elder brother's generation.

Regardless of Bai Lu's background or cultivation level, as long as he was on good terms with Chen Xia, he was part of the elder brother's generation.

It could be said that Emperor Zhou had a thorough grasp of social etiquette.

As expected of a soldier under the Emperor Capital, they were cut from the same cloth.