Under the moonlight, a floating island hung suspended in the sky.
The Heavenly Palace.
True to its name, it stood against the celestial curtain, shining alongside the stars and the bright moon. From a distance, it looked like an island emerging from the Milky Way.
Lin Chen sat on a stone bridge, enveloped in swirling mist and clouds.
He held a wine bottle in his hand, taking occasional, unhurried sips.
"You're still awake so late?"
A soft voice sounded from behind.
Lin Chen turned to look.
A graceful and charming beauty walked over with elegant steps. Her alluring figure, accentuated by her palace attire, made her even more captivating.
"Palace Master."
Lin Chen nodded in acknowledgment, showing no intention of offering a formal salute.
Murong Qinghong didn't mind Lin Chen's lack of courtesy. Unconstrained, she slowly sat down beside him.
At that moment, her palace skirt slipped slightly, revealing a jade-like, fragrant shoulder.
Then, Murong Qinghong gave a soft smile and slowly pulled her garment back up, her movements carrying an indescribable allure.
Lin Chen frowned slightly.
He could sense this woman was trying to seduce him.
However, in terms of pure looks, Su Xue'er was still superior.
"Are you worried about tomorrow's final duel?" Murong Qinghong asked with a smile.
Lin Chen pondered and simply nodded along.
"Don't be afraid. That Niutou Chen is definitely no match for you," Murong Qinghong comforted him in a gentle tone.
This young man before her was cold, handsome, and powerful, so much like him from back then!
It's just a pity...
A trace of melancholy flashed in Murong Qinghong's eyes.
"Mm," Lin Chen replied flatly.
Murong Qinghong took out a short arrow and handed it over.
Reaching out to take it, Lin Chen looked at the short arrow with curiosity.
"It contains extremely strong and unstable metal spiritual energy," a voice from the jade pendant reminded him.
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this practically a bomb?
"This is a Cloud Arrow!"
Murong Qinghong didn't keep him in suspense and revealed a smile. "In the arena, channel your spiritual energy into it and throw this arrow. Your opponent will surely die! Remember, before using it, you must ensure your own safety!"
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow again.
"I have high hopes for you. I would be very pleased if you could become my husband."
Murong Qinghong said leisurely, her soft, supple body leaning a bit closer to Lin Chen, a faint fragrance emanating from her.
It had to be said, she was a very charming woman, one who could drive men wild with desire.
It was just a pity that the person she was facing was Lin Chen.
Lin Chen took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "It's late at night. If you and I are alone together, people will gossip."
Murong Qinghong looked at Lin Chen's still icy expression.
The ambiguous atmosphere instantly dissipated without a trace.
"Fine. I'll be watching you tomorrow."
After saying this, Murong Qinghong stood up and slowly walked away.
Lin Chen continued to enjoy the night breeze, drank his wine, examined the Cloud Arrow in his hand, and showed a look of disdain.
The Cloud Arrow was then thrown away by him like trash.
Boom!
From the garden below the bridge, flames shot into the sky, and a thick, dark mushroom cloud billowed up.
Lin Chen: "..."
This woman was planning to take him and An Yi out together!
Watching the gold-armored guards come rushing noisily,
Lin Chen didn't hesitate. He activated his Swift Shadow Steps and swiftly left the scene.
Outside the main hall, a huge crowd had gathered.
Almost all the upper echelons of the Heavenly Palace were assembled here.
A two-meter-tall, big-eared fat monk with a constant smile on his face wore yellow monastic robes, his chest exposed, revealing an impressive bust.
By visual estimation, it should be a D-cup!
This person was the head of the Four Great Guardians, the Joyful Buddha, Mi Huan.
Beside him was a delicate-looking young monk, none other than Wu Chen, who had participated in the marriage contest!
"Ah, Master, if you hadn't made me withdraw back then, maybe your disciple would be standing up there now," Wu Chen sighed.
Mi Huan slapped the back of his disciple's head. "Ungrateful disciple! Are you trying to be the death of me with your filial piety? And you dare to covet the Palace Master's beauty?"
"Keep the good stuff in the family, right?" Wu Chen muttered.
However, Murong Qinghong's appearance and figure were indeed tantalizing.
"Brother Mi, your disciple is quite bold, actually aiming for the Palace Master."
A middle-aged man with graying hair, carrying a green sword, and with a scholarly air spoke in an even tone, but with a hint of coldness.
This person was the Green Sword Scholar, Wang Jiudong.
"Hah, even an injury can't shut your meddling mouth," Mi Huan snorted.
He was always protective of his own. Hearing this guy criticize his disciple naturally displeased him.
Wang Jiudong's face turned ashen.
Getting injured a few days ago while capturing Mo Jiu due to underestimating the enemy was a disgrace to him!
"However, I heard that fellow Yin Zheng got knocked off a rooftop by a masked kid. Tsk tsk, the Four Great Guardians... each more disgraceful than the last," Mi Huan said with a grin.
"You..."
Wang Jiudong's expression turned cold.
Although they were called the Four Great Guardians of the Heavenly Palace, they represented different factions.
The Green Sword Scholar Wang Jiudong and the Long-browed Daoist Xu Kang genuinely belonged to Palace Master Murong Qinghong's faction.
The Nine Guards Commander Yin Zheng belonged to the Xing family's collateral branch.
Even though the previous Palace Master, Xing Yunjun, was confirmed dead, Yin Zheng had not followed the new palace master. Instead, he had been serving the collateral branch's Xing Yunhai!
As for Mi Huan, he belonged to his own faction, maintaining neutrality.
The true foundation of the Heavenly Palace lay in its four great surname clans.
Or rather, the Heavenly Palace was essentially these four great families.
The Xing Family, the Murong Family, the Bai Family, and the Hua Family!
They were once the four great elders of the Heavenly Palace. But as the power of the Heavenly Palace became decentralized, this trend of forming distinct families became increasingly pronounced.
"Excellent, excellent. It's rare to see everyone gathered today."
An elegant middle-aged man with a mustache said with a smile.
Murong Xiao, head of the Murong Family!
The younger brother of Heavenly Palace Palace Master Murong Qinghong.
An old man with a full head of silver hair and a vigorous spirit said calmly, "It is indeed not easy for today's Heavenly Palace to gather so many people."
"Old Master Bai, how have you been lately?"
At this moment, a man as fat as a pig walked over slowly, saying with a smile.
"Second Young Master Xing!"
The old man of the Bai family bowed slightly in greeting.
Although the Xing Family had become the weakest faction, due respect still had to be given.
After all, the Heavenly Palace bore the Xing surname! The Murong Family had seized power!
Murong Xiao's eyes flashed with killing intent. "Why aren't the Hua family members here? Where are those bastards?"
The Hua Family, having separated from the Heavenly Palace to become an independent faction, still held some resentment towards the palace.
Sending a junior like Hua Fengyu to the marriage contest also carried a hint of insult.
If he actually succeeded, wouldn't Murong Xiao have to call Hua Fengyu brother-in-law?
And then what would he call Hua Fengyu's father, the Hua family patriarch?
The old man of the Bai family said calmly, "Everyone, please remain calm. Let's watch the two outstanding young talents compete for the championship."
The Bai Family had always maintained neutrality.
They never participated in these factional struggles.
Inside the main hall were the various hall masters of the Heavenly Palace's thirty-six halls and the court lords of the seventy-two courts, who governed the major cities of the immortal gate.
The rest were scattered Heavenly Palace martial artists, such as some gold-armored guard commanders, talented youths from various families, and so on.
Outside the main hall, it was quite lively and noisy.
"Have you heard? One of the finalists is a... bull-headed man!"
"Really? If true, then wouldn't the Palace Master..."
"Impossible, such a thing couldn't happen."
Before it even began, everyone was quietly discussing.
After all, the novelty of a "bull-headed man" was quite attention-grabbing.
Nice, very nice! I really like this place. It looks grand and spacious. Once the Palace Master becomes my woman, I'm gonna raise pigs in here!
Right at that moment, a rough, booming voice rang out.
The entire hall fell dead silent.
A towering, brawny minotaur, standing two and a half meters tall, slowly strode in.
Everyone who saw him gasped in unison.
Can a person really look like that?
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!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
