Shangguan Mansion; Blue Courtyard.
Inside a guest hall on the upper floor, all kinds of delicious foods were presented. Lin Chen wolfed them down ravenously, not behaving like a grandmaster at all.
Satisfied, Lin Chen picked his teeth and crossed his legs casually as he stretched out lazily.
Shangguan Bihan was very well-mannered, waiting for Lin Chen to eat and drink his fill before speaking.
"So, Grandmaster Shi Lezhi, how should I resolve my problem? What medicine should I take?"
Lin Chen lazily waved his hand.
"Stretch out your hand and let me feel it. I can directly dissolve it for you."
Hearing this, Shangguan Bihan's expression changed slightly. She had been strictly educated since childhood. Boys her age couldn't even meet her, let alone touch her.
Even bringing Lin Chen into the mansion was through a secret passage.
"Master, can we try another method... This one is inconvenient for Bihan."
Shangguan Bihan awkwardly pleaded.
"Huh? I have no other way. If you're unwilling, find someone else. This isn't a problem that can be solved with medicine, otherwise your high-level alchemists would have noticed."
Lin Chen shrugged as if to leave.
"This is..."
Shangguan Bihan hesitated in distress.
"If I do anything inappropriate, the old gentleman protecting you behind the curtain will make a move. This is just etiquette. Where I'm from, it's how we greet each other."
Lin Chen glanced at a certain window pretentiously.
Since earlier, he had sensed a powerful aura protecting Shangguan Bihan, much stronger than her two 9th-layer Spirit Formation guards.
"If you're unwilling, I'll take my leave. Though the food here is very good."
Seeing Shangguan Bihan's indecision, Lin Chen pushed her to make a quick decision.
Sure enough, as Lin Chen got up, Shangguan Bihan immediately said, "Master must promise this stays between us. It would affect Bihan's reputation..."
Lin Chen couldn't help but roll his eyes. Just a touch affects her reputation? The Shangguan family sure cared a lot about face!
"Look at my handsome face and you'll know I'm the secretive type. No more nonsense, let's get down to business. Hold out your hand."
Lin Chen grinned. Shangguan Bihan's tender body quivered slightly before she rolled up her sleeve, revealing a snowy arm.
Lifting his palm, Lin Chen grasped Shangguan Bihan's soft tender hand. She shuddered lightly, as if electrified.
"Tsk, tsk, Miss Shangguan Bihan is like water."
Lin Chen was shocked inwardly, but he also sensed killing intent locking onto him. Any inappropriate behavior would anger the hidden expert.
Closing his eyes, Lin Chen circulated his mental power. In his vision, thumb-sized attribute light balls rapidly fused into his body!
【Host gains 1578 points of water element energy, 3498 points, 9487 points.】
Ignoring the system notification, Lin Chen let go after absorbing the attribute light balls from Shangguan Bihan's body.
"Phew~~ Done. Just repeat this a few more times, then disperse some of your mystic art's energy. That will prevent future lethal danger."
Lin Chen pretended to pant heavily.
Shangguan Bihan touched her acupoints and found most of the pain gone. Puzzled yet worried, she asked,
"Why must I disperse my cultivation?"
Dispersing the cultivation base would cause regression. The price was too much for ordinary people.
"I presume Miss Bihan has a special bloodline. Your bloodline carries your ancestors' unique abilities. Am I right?"
"Mm, yes. Our Shangguan clan has an inherited eye bloodline."
Shangguan Bihan admitted it openly. It wasn't a big secret.
"Correct. The potential and energy in your bloodline will reach a new peak in half a month. Your high-level mystic art happens to change your physique, bones, and even bloodline. The conflict would be unimaginable without me."
Lin Chen's explanation both shocked and puzzled Shangguan Bihan. She anxiously asked,
"But my ancestors also cultivated to high realms with the mystic art without threat to their lives?"
"Because their bloodlines were inferior to yours, so there was no conflict."
Lin Chen's words enlightened her. Even the hidden expert emerged.
"Haha, Bihan, I understand now. The Grandmaster speaks of our Shangguan clan's one and only bloodline secondary awakening. Our clan hasn't had one in a thousand years! We will finally rise again. A blessing in disguise, a blessing in disguise!"
The grey-robed steward congratulated Shangguan Bihan excitedly. His wariness of Lin Chen also disappeared as he sincerely apologized,
"This old man owes the Grandmaster an apology for earlier."
Lin Chen casually laughed. "It's understandable to be overprotective of your clan's precious darling."
"I can really have a secondary bloodline awakening?"
Shangguan Bihan grew excited. If true, the cultivation base loss would be negligible. The abundant resources of the Shangguan clan could quickly make up for it.
Lin Chen could see the attribute light balls, so he noticed Shangguan Bihan's condition. Without him, perhaps no one in Myriad Spirits City could have saved her.
Lin Chen noticed many high-quality attribute light balls in the hall. He immediately walked over to pick them up, puzzling the two as they wondered why the Grandmaster was wildly grabbing at the air.
"Grandmaster Shi Lezhi, what are you doing?"
"Giving your esteemed Shangguan clan a free fengshui reading. Hmm~ your fengshui isn't good here!"
Lin Chen pretended to inspect their fengshui seriously, brightening their eyes.
"Grandmaster can even see that?"
The grey-robed steward rarely grew excited.
"Mm~ I can see a little."
Lin Chen pretended to be modest.
Just as the two looked at each other, about to speak, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
"Bihan, are you inside? I heard Aunt Liu say you brought someone. Where is he?"
The rushed footsteps reached the door and a handsome young man in white robes burst in, holding a white feather fan elegantly. He looked to be 24-25 years old.
Seeing Lin Chen, the white-robed youth immediately scolded,
"You country bumpkin, how dare you appear in Bihan's pavilion!"
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
