Chapter 88: The Nineteenth Sorcerer

However, the Evil Dragon Emperor’s strength had clearly not yet returned to its former peak, and he could not frequently appear in his true form to speak. Thus, he seized this opportunity. The Evil Dragon Emperor also intended to create a point of connection for Luo Chen, establishing him as his representative in human society.

As for other matters, such as the notion of merit and reward—having acquired wealth, one must pay taxes and offer tributes to me, and so on—by that time, one could be considered a person of taste.

If the situation were reversed, and Gauss arrived on Earth with a host of formidable experts, Zhang Bin would certainly grow suspicious and be especially cautious.

Murong Yan’s shoulder had already suffered a knife wound a few days earlier, and tonight she’d been struck again on the same shoulder by a demon’s claw, injuring the bone. Now, it seemed the old injury had reopened, and she could no longer sustain the Taishan Technique. As she withdrew, the wound had become even more serious.

A victorious smile appeared on Zhang Bin’s face. His mix of soft and hard tactics had indeed worked.

“No, impossible! Who are you?” Tie Zheng, uncharacteristically, snapped coldly. The violet thunder-moon blade instantly appeared in his hand, as if facing a formidable enemy.

“How powerful is my soul? How could it possibly be subdued by it? It can only bind people, but it cannot restrain a soul as strong as mine. It’s already impressive that it managed to escape, found you as a scapegoat, and flew back. That sliver of soul energy has now completely dissipated,” the Puppet Celestial Emperor said.

His confidant accepted each item with a grin, then boasted, “Isn’t it because we brothers always get along? Of course, when there’s an easy and safe task like this, I think of you all. Otherwise—” Suddenly, he froze, staring blankly at the person opposite, unable to say another word.

The second to last was the middle-aged man in imperial robes whom he’d met while studying the arcane arts. Looking closely, the two of them even bore a certain resemblance. Could they be brothers?

The young man in the blood-red robe cast Lin Fan a deep look—so the Sword Pavilion’s reputation was indeed well deserved. Even in the distant Demon’s Lair, he’d heard of the Sword Pavilion and knew just how monstrous its disciples were.

A shadowy figure, back facing Jiang Ye, fetched a stool from somewhere, climbed onto it, and placed his neck on the white silk.

Now freed from the constraints of his physical body, Karl—already a genius—had grown even cleverer. Rumor had it he’d recently made new breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.

This drone belonged to the Yangcheng News Live Studio. Everything that had just happened had already been recorded.

Compared to Qi Baolian, who still treated her son as the crown prince, Jiang Peiwei was far more self-aware—she knew her status as a second wife was not an advantage in town.

A mere battle, at most, left one slightly tired, but it did not affect performance in the least.

The third approach was anticipating the enemy’s moves—investigating the Tufan marauders’ routes in advance, so as not only to avoid their raids but to ambush them as well. This was the optimal solution, but not easily achieved.

Seeing Huo Tingxiao focused on driving at a reasonable speed, Jiang Xiyan turned in her seat and, surprisingly, drifted off to sleep.

“What kind of job pays so much?” Yun Zhiyi was a little worried—could the child have fallen into a trap?

After weighing everyone’s opinions, Zheng Qi decided to spare Matsumoto Naiko’s life and take her with him to the Angel Realm to assume his post.

He did his utmost to help behind the scenes, and on the day of submitting the memorial, gently maneuvered for a reinstatement on the waiting list. Such was the influence of the Jia family: a little over a month later, when a vacancy arose in Jinling’s Yingtian Prefecture, they managed to fill it.

It was as if needles pricked at their bodies; had it not been for the increasing number of academy members and powerful figures arriving, someone might have already taken forceful action against them, rather than waiting until now.

The others sat in the conference room, scarcely daring to breathe. After all, many of them had, to some degree, been courted by Qiu Yuanlong, and their consciences weighed heavily.

Master and servant walked back. Many people had already left the main hall, gathering in small, lively clusters to chat.

Chen Nian led her to the bedroom door and pushed it open. Lin Yue could hear her own heartbeat—or rather, the sound of her heart breaking.

Just like Wei Zhinan, after years of perfecting the art of disguising his true feelings, it had become nearly impossible to discern any truth from his ever-calm, unruffled expression and tone.

Jun Luo quietly withdrew his gaze, a trace of doubt in his eyes. Although Fang Shuo was somewhat unreliable, he hardly seemed the type to bully others with his power.

Lu Anru straightened her back and pulled Dai Qiyang, who was still trying to explain, behind her. Now that the child was awake, it was clear he wasn’t cut out to be an actor, so there was no need to waste any more time.

Mu Xuan’s archery was personally taught by Jiang Rui. Jin Li said he had potential in this area, so after Mu Xuan had been in Qingjue for only a few months, he was sent to study archery under Jiang Rui.

When talent was evenly matched, there would be competition. But Liu Xiu’s three consecutive poems had already left the officials present with no will to contend.

This went far beyond mere arrogance born of favor; if word got out, Yao Chuxi would surely become the target of scandal and slander.

If he truly intended to send troops, he would not have come south to negotiate, but would have started the war directly.

Liu Xiu rose and went to the rear courtyard. The closer it drew to the wedding, the more he worried about Huang Yueying’s feelings. Though she said nothing and always appeared understanding, Liu Xiu knew he must reassure her so that she felt no burden, and thus he went straight to her quarters.