Xu Luo closed his eyes slightly, his tone thick with tenderness.
"Leave it to ."
"Mmm..."
The night passed in silence.
...
"As long as Xu Luo remains, any talk of controlling the Cangqiong Royal Family is a joke." A venerable elder, sitting across from Shangguan Qing, spoke slowly. "We underestimated this boy before, thinking he was rely a champion among the younger generation. But from his performance today, even if he possesses so rare treasure, his own strength is definitely not to be taken lightly!"
Another person chid in, "That's right, and his personal relationship with Xushan seems to be quite good. I heard that back in the Small World, it was thanks to his help that Xushan's niece, Xu Qing, was able to obtain the Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact, the Dragon Bell. Moreover, Lianyi, the daughter of the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cauldron Sect, shares a deep bond with him. Back when Ling Fengwu, the current Sect Leader of the Celestial Cauldron Sect, was still a disciple, she was pregnant and being hunted. After giving birth, she had no choice but to abandon her daughter in the wilderness to lead her enemies away. That child was Lianyi, who was later adopted by the Cangqiong Empire's current Grand General King, Xu Ji!"
Shangguan Qing's refined face showed little surprise; he had clearly already known all of this. After a mont of contemplation, he said, "For now... we still can't move against him. The forces behind this person might not be limited to what we've seen. I've always suspected that the power capable of cultivating such a young man might be..."
As Shangguan Qing spoke, a rare, solemn look appeared on his face.
The venerable elder and the other middle-aged man were both startled for a mont, and their expressions shifted slightly. The venerable elder murmured, "Sect Leader, are you referring to... *those* people?"
Shangguan Qing nodded slightly and sighed. "When he unleashed that attack today, I could tell he could only manage it once. But... the very fact that he can use such an attack thod already speaks volus, doesn't it?"
The venerable elder nodded, his voice grave. "If it's truly as the Sect Leader suspects, then... this will be very difficult to handle. *Those* people... they don't operate by reason." He gave a wry smile. "It's like the superiority we feel when dealing with secular folk, how we don't need to reason with them. When *those* people deal with us... they don't need to reason with us, either!"
At this point, the middle-aged man interjected, "I see it differently. I've looked into this young man's history. Before the age of seventeen, he was just an obscure, ordinary boy, and a very frail one at that. He would grow weak and faint on cloudy or rainy days. There was nothing special about him at all."
"That's precisely what makes it so terrifying!" the venerable elder said.
The middle-aged man's eyes flickered. He thought for a mont, then fell silent as well.
Indeed. Wasn't it telling enough that soone with no discernible special qualities had, in just three years, grown into an expert that even the upper echelons of major sects like theirs had to be wary of?
They didn't really believe that the young man had simply stumbled upon so fortuitous encounter. From their high positions, their perspective on many matters was far broader than that of ordinary people. Which of them hadn't been exceptionally talented in their youth? Which of them hadn't had a few fortuitous encounters of their own? And yet, not a single one of them had managed to go from an obscure, frail, secular boy to a peerless expert in just three years.
Therefore, in their eyes, it was simply impossible that Xu Luo didn't have a mysterious and powerful force backing him!
"Then, if there really is a powerful faction behind him, what... what should we do?" the middle-aged man asked.
Shangguan Qing thought for a mont, then said softly, "Wait."
"Wait?" Both the venerable elder and the middle-aged man were confused.
The middle-aged man said, "Sect Leader, we don't have much ti! If we can't quickly gain control of the Cangqiong Royal Family this ti, not only will that Spirit Stone Vein be completely out of our reach, but that prophecy... I'm afraid it won't have anything to do with us either!"
"Other sects are bound to arrive here soon. Although they will be wary of us, don't forget that the Shaking Light Sect and the Black Water Sect dislike Xu Luo just as much. When the ti cos, soone is bound to lose their patience and make a move against him," Shangguan Qing said calmly. "At that point, if he truly has powerful support, it will have to show itself. And if he doesn't..."
Shangguan Qing didn't finish his sentence, but both n understood his aning. If he didn't have support, the Kaiyang Sect would strike with the force of a thunderbolt, eliminate Xu Luo in one fell swoop, and seize control of the entire Cangqiong Royal Family!
At that ti, even though Dubhe had already occupied the Spirit Stone Vein, the Kaiyang Sect could suppress them on the moral high ground!
If Xu Luo truly did have powerful backers, then they hadn't offended him to the point of no return. There would still be a chance to de-escalate things later.
Shangguan Qing's calculations were ticulous, but he had forgotten one thing: within the Kaiyang Sect, there were many others who hated Xu Luo!
...
"Brother Xu Luo... Qiqi is yours from now on. You'll never, ever leave Qiqi, right?"
"Mmm, of course I'll never leave you," Xu Luo said with deep affection.
'Qiqi will always be yours, but it's a pity Brother isn't only Qiqi's. How wonderful it would be if there were no one else.' This thought remained deep in Huangfu Shishi's heart, unsaid. She was a girl both proud and insecure. A hidden illness she'd had since childhood had once made the Royal Princess feel very inferior; only in front of Xu Luo could she truly let herself go.
Huangfu Shishi was well aware of the other beautiful won in Xu Luo's life. It had always been a source of sorrow and helplessness for her. In the dead of night, whenever she thought about it, she would feel a sense of bitterness. This was especially true because while she and Xu Luo got along harmoniously, it always felt like there was a thin veil between them that had never been pierced.
'He cares about !'
'He loves !'
'He always has!'
This was the emotion Huangfu Shishi sensed from Xu Luo.
'If only we could be together forever!' Such a joyful thought suddenly popped into her head, and Huangfu Shishi ntally chided herself for being so shaless. 'How could I have such a greedy thought?' But the idea still filled her heart with sweetness.
"Princess... Princess..." A palace maid's careful yet urgent voice ca from outside.
"Ah, what is it?" Huangfu Shishi snapped out of her fantasy and replied subconsciously.
"Outside the palace... a fellow sect mber of yours is asking for an audience, Princess..." the palace maid said cautiously. As Huangfu Shishi's personal maid, she was a confidante and knew very well that soone else was in the princess's boudoir at that mont—a man who was a hero in her own eyes as well.
"Didn't I say I'm not seeing anyone?" Huangfu Shishi was displeased. She had known Brother Xu Luo for over a decade, and they were finally together. The sweet feeling made her want to ignore everything else; it could even temporarily make her forget the pain of her parents' deaths. Naturally, she was extrely unhappy about being disturbed.
"Yes, I told her that, but she said she is your senior sister from the sect and has sothing important to tell you. This servant..." the palace maid explained, looking troubled.
"Fine. Take her to a guest room. I'll go out to see her now." As she spoke, Huangfu Shishi couldn't help but let out a soft hmph.
Xu Luo reached out and patted her head.
"Ah... you're still ssing around!" Huangfu Shishi exclaid softly.
"Go on now. I have a surprise for you later," Xu Luo said.
Huangfu Shishi gave Xu Luo a sweet smile. "You're my biggest surprise!"
With that, she sat up, got dressed, and chuckled. "My lord, wait here. Let's see each other in a bit!" She then gave Xu Luo another sweet smile. Seeing the exasperated look on his face, she finally couldn't hold back her laughter and glided gracefully away.
'This girl... she's finally starting to recover from that blow,' Xu Luo thought, resolving to help her improve her strength later.
The storm was gathering as factions from all sides converged on the secular world. To get through it safely, relying on others was ultimately not a viable solution. The best way was to beco stronger oneself!
As Xu Luo was thinking, a wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over him, and he couldn't help but fall into a deep sleep.
The next thing he knew, he was standing before that towering Star Gate!
'Huh? How did I get here? Weren't I told... that I couldn't enter until I broke through to the next major realm?' Xu Luo was filled with confusion.
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