Jiang Xinyao glanced at the elders pressuring Qin Hao, then at Qin Hao who was suppressed on the ground with a pained expression. She immediately spread her arms and stood in front of him:
"Elders! Perhaps there is some misunderstanding here. I do not believe Ye Hao is that kind of person."
An elder with a stern face and bristling hair and beard snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain and anger:
"Misunderstanding? Imperial Daughter! You are inexperienced in the ways of the world. Do not let this sweet-talking scoundrel blind you. What misunderstanding could there be? He stole our clan's supreme treasure right in front of all of us. This is an indisputable fact."
Jiang Xinyao's two uncles also stepped forward: "Xinyao, step aside! This matter is of great importance and is not something you can interfere with!"
"Enough, disperse."
Suddenly, a calm voice drifted over. Everyone looked toward the source. The speaker was none other than the First Ancestor of the Jiang family, Jiang Qitian.
Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Qitian slowly walked up to Qin Hao. He reached out and gently lifted his hand. The pressure on Qin Hao vanished instantly, and his entire body was supported by a gentle force.
"Did you... see her?"
As he asked this, a look of reminiscence appeared on Jiang Qitian's face.
"Yes," Qin Hao replied softly. He knew Jiang Qitian was referring to Liu Ruyan.
Hearing this, Jiang Qitian nodded: "I see. It seems my Jiang family's destiny with the Luck-Plundering Stele has come to an end. Since that is the case, you should take this Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele. She was waiting for you all along; my Jiang family merely kept it safe on her behalf for all these years."
Upon hearing this, the members of the Jiang family were immediately displeased.
"Ancestor! This Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele is our Jiang family's supreme treasure, the very foundation of our clan! How can you just hand it over to someone else?"
Jiang Qitian raised his hand, and a terrifying pressure swept across the entire Jiang family estate:
"This Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele never belonged to our Jiang family. At the end of the Immortal Antiquity Era, I was fortunate enough to earn the trust of Fairy Miejue, who entrusted it to me. Today, it is simply returning to its rightful owner."
"Speaking of which, we all owe her our gratitude. If not for her, I would never have become an Immortal Emperor. If not for this Luck-Plundering Stele, I would have died countless times over. Today, it returns to its owner. Speak no more of this."
As he spoke, a trace of awe and nostalgia flickered in Jiang Qitian's eyes. Back then, he was just a minor cultivator in the Qi Condensation Realm, while she was already an existence standing at the absolute pinnacle of the Three Realms and Nine Heavens.
Even though Jiang Qitian was now an Immortal Emperor himself, in his heart, that peerless and magnificent woman remained a monument he could only look up to.
"Young friend Ye, I can give you this Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele, but I have one request."
As soon as these words were spoken, a dead silence fell over the area. That was the First Ancestor of their Jiang family, a supreme mighty figure at the Immortal Emperor level! Yet he actually addressed this outsider as young friend and even made a request. This...
Qin Hao quickly cupped his hands: "Senior, you are too polite. If there is anything this junior can do for you, please speak freely."
"The Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele does not generate destiny out of thin air. Instead, it plunders the destiny of those who fail its trials and rewards it to those who succeed."
"I hope that, every thousand years, you can allow the disciples of my Jiang family to enter this Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele for trials. How about it?"
"Of course, in return, my Jiang family will be your most steadfast ally."
In truth, even if Qin Hao refused, Jiang Qitian would still try to win him over. After all, Qin Hao was the person she had chosen.
Qin Hao had thought Jiang Qitian was going to raise some difficult condition, but it turned out to be just this?
"No problem, I agree."
Without any hesitation, Qin Hao nodded and agreed directly. The Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele could not grant destiny repeatedly. Right now, he could only obtain destiny by breaking through Liu Ruyan's projection on the one hundredth floor.
To the current Qin Hao, the Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele was just a tool to continuously spar with geniuses and improve his combat experience. Allowing Jiang family disciples to enter for trials during his spare time would not affect him at all.
After receiving Qin Hao's consent, Jiang Qitian waved his hand at the surrounding crowd: "Alright, disperse."
Since the Ancestor had spoken, the Jiang family members could only forcefully accept the reality that their clan's supreme treasure was being taken away by this outsider, Qin Hao.
A group of people glared at Qin Hao with eyes full of indignation before storming off angrily.
"Young friend Ye, the function of this Hongmeng Luck-Plundering Stele is not merely to obtain destiny. You will have to explore it slowly yourself. I hope that in your hands, it will not disgrace the reputation of its master, Fairy Miejue."
Qin Hao cupped his hands and said with a solemn expression: "I will definitely not let her down!"
Jiang Qitian nodded, and then his figure vanished.
Before long, only Jiang Xinyao and Qin Hao were left in the massive plaza.
At this moment, Jiang Xinyao was puffing her cheeks, staring at Qin Hao with a depressed expression.
Seeing this, Qin Hao could not help but pinch her rosy cheeks:
"What's wrong? I was quite surprised by this matter too."
"I didn't expect that I was inviting a wolf into the house this time! You obtained a heaven-defying opportunity in our Jiang family. I don't care, you have to compensate me properly!"
Qin Hao looked at Jiang Xinyao. Right now, she was pouting angrily, yet carrying a hint of coquettishness.
"Compensate?" The corners of Qin Hao's mouth curled up slightly as he played along: "I wonder what kind of compensation my Lady Imperial Daughter desires?"
"I want to go out and stroll around. Since I was little, I've spent almost all my time cultivating in the clan estate. The farthest place I've ever been was the forest where I met you. I want to see the outside world and how those rogue cultivators live."
"Just you and me. And don't treat me like an Imperial Daughter, just like... like normal friends."
Jiang Xinyao wanted to say normal Dao companions, but she was too embarrassed to say those words out loud.
This Jiang family Imperial Daughter, who was noble and aloof in front of outsiders, was acting like a little girl begging for candy in front of Qin Hao. The contrast was striking.
Qin Hao saw through Jiang Xinyao's little thoughts at a glance. It seemed that a high-star rating from this client, Jiang Xinyao, was definitely in the bag.
Thinking of this, Qin Hao wrapped an arm around Jiang Xinyao's waist:
"What do you mean normal friends? Are we just normal friends?"
Feeling the warmth of Qin Hao's palm on her waist, Jiang Xinyao's gaze drifted erratically, not daring to meet his eyes at all:
"No, not normal friends... then what are we?"
Looking at Jiang Xinyao's shy little appearance, Qin Hao couldn't suppress his rising smile. He leaned close to her ear and gently exhaled:
"Did you forget? We are Dao companions. How about it? Do you need me, your Dao companion, to fulfill my duties and take you to properly experience the daily life of normal Dao companions?"
The flirtatious words and warm breath made Jiang Xinyao's face turn bright red in an instant. Feeling both shy and anxious, she raised her hand to lightly pound Qin Hao's chest, only to find that because he was so close, feeling the aura radiating from him, her entire body went soft and devoid of strength.
"N-nonsense... What are you saying? W-we are just... n-normal friends. I-I don't want to... experience... any... d-d-daily life!"
Hearing this, Qin Hao quickly took a half-step back, putting some distance between himself and Jiang Xinyao. "Alright. Since that is what you want, we will just be ordinary friends then."
As he stepped away, the heart-stirring, intimate tension that had just lingered between them instantly cooled. Jiang Xinyao felt a sudden, sharp emptiness in her chest.
Watching Qin Hao turn his back to deliberately keep his distance, acting as if he truly intended to escort her out strictly as an "ordinary friend," the secret anticipation and sweetness in her heart were instantly replaced by a wave of disappointment.
"Wait a minute!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
