Chapter 38

The throne was now firmly reserved for the seventeen-year-old crown prince, awaiting only the formal enthronement ceremony.

The nanny let out a long sigh. Watching Guo Maofeng being driven into the deep crater in the ground, the resentment she had suppressed for so long finally dissipated. She felt an indescribable sense of relief and even had the urge to rush over and stomp on him, but knowing how formidable Guo Maofeng was, she managed to restrain herself.

Of course, there had been prior orders to keep Tu Xuanzhong alive in order to uncover the location of the river bandits' treasure. Even if they had truly wanted to execute the bandit leader, it would have been no easy task; Jiang Batian’s naval forces were filled with loyal, battle-hardened desperadoes.

After a while, once the black, tide-like shadow drew near, Lei Yu and his companions realized it was an endless sea of skeletons and zombies, surging forth in a dense, tangled mass. The flickering soul-fire in their eye sockets stirred a primal fear in the hearts of those who beheld them.

To ensure they would not miss the opportunity when it arose, Xiao Lin began arranging for the soldiers to rest, replenishing their ammunition, and organizing a guard unit for the army’s departure. Throughout this entire process, Ye Qianqian remained by his side.

The group returned to the fortress to set up camp. Generals and martial artists gathered together to recount the events in detail, all of them feeling quite reflective.

In the national server, there were many precious limited-edition skins—like the Year of the Dragon exclusives. A single skin could sell for thousands on certain marketplaces. Most people couldn’t dream of spending that kind of money, let alone collecting them all.

In the third cabinet stood bracelets, necklaces, and rings made of beast blood. Soaked in the blood of high-level demonic beasts, the staining was uniform, the luster soft, and they emitted a gentle, auspicious glow.

Just then, a figure flew up from beneath the water. A masked man in black performed a series of mid-air leaps, reaching the exceptionally high edge of the city wall, where he reached out and gripped Tang Yimei’s left ankle firmly.

"Since you are a guest, we should treat you with hospitality," Zheng Chenheng said indifferently, gesturing for him to proceed. Chairman Liu said nothing more and followed him out with a smile.

Li Rizhi and Fu Guibao whispered to each other on the side. The He clan members clamored in the courtroom, and the surrounding crowd caused an uproar outside. The entire Hu County magistrate’s office was in total chaos.

To gain in an instant the fruits of others' decades of hard work—this is the greatness of transcendental power, the terrifying strength of a knight’s power, and the unique attribute inherent only to "Throne Battle Qi."

From the time he finished dinner until he left the Xia residence, Gong Shaoxie noticed that Xia Fangyuan’s expression seemed deeply unhappy.

***

His tone carried a great deal of disappointment. It turned out it was his sister who had begged the Emperor, rather than Empress Wu who had released him. Could it be that he had truly lost his aunt’s favor?

To this, Karl could only spread his hands and shrug slightly, indicating that Lady Lolis was absolutely right and he had nothing to say.

If you asked You Baochou to embroider, she was quite brilliant; but if you asked her to use her brains to figure out how to marry Wen Dengke, she couldn’t come up with a single idea.

Li Xianyi did not actually chase after Li Yixiao to beat him up, but his face was dark. "Who on earth did he learn this from?" he wondered. "This kid seems to be getting pretty close to Lu Shu, doesn't he?"

But this time, before he could even speak, the student cultivators voluntarily handed over their spirit stones and retrieved their storage bags.

Jiang Xiao had considered this matter many times. He did not care who sat on the throne; dynastic changes were always inevitable. As long as the common people were not kept in ignorance, no ruler would dare to treat them like livestock.

At that moment, I continued to hold Su Xiaoyue, pressing my face against hers, feeling her body grow cold bit by bit while my heart remained in a state of deathly silence.

On August 16, 2014, Qingwei disciple Qian Shouxuan, to prevent the "Shattered Mouth" from rupturing and releasing a hundred ghosts to harm the world, used his own flesh and blood as a tether, pulling the obstructing killing-ghosts and evil spirits into the rift with him.

Lin Wanbai knew perfectly well that this was of no use, but she did it anyway; after all, she could not just sit and wait for death.

Then, Li Tong took seven or eight sheets of paper, soaked them in water all at once, and plastered them onto the man's face.

It was already past eight in the evening when Li Lu finished his business and returned to the Changchun Factory guesthouse. Li Jiahua, his face flushed red from drink, was sitting with Zhang Weiwei and Lin Peisen, sipping tea and chatting around the coffee table.

Xue Yundao stated a grim fact: there were not enough troops. The Eight-Nation Alliance had easily scraped together four hundred thousand soldiers, while their own total force amounted to only eighty thousand. Even if they repelled these four hundred thousand, the Alliance would surely send more. How could they possibly hold them off then?

"Brother Deng Fei, do not panic! Chao Gai is here!" Just then, a thunderous shout filled Deng Fei with wild joy. It was none other than Chao Gai, holding the Heavenly Dragon Breaking City Halberd and riding the Hissing Wind Dragon-Tiger Beast, charging directly into the fray.

***

"Don't you see how desolate it is here? If we rush in blindly, we have nowhere to hide, and they will discover us immediately. If they feel threatened, Yan Wei will be in danger! Let us first find out whose property this is and see what the relationship is between Yan Miao and the owner."

Mo Lingyuan widened his eyes upon hearing this, then composed himself, exchanged a few polite words, and began to eat with the two attendants.

After discussing official business, Xu Lanin brought out the fabric gifted by Lady Min. It was a dark blue fine cloth. She cut pieces for everyone in the family to make clothes, leaving very little behind.

However, unlike Yun Mo, Wu Tianxu was physically healthy. Though he lacked parental love, he had a group of brothers who treated him well, and it was said that his mother’s kin were also very kind to him.

But Ling Yao was somewhat resistant to the idea of going to Luoyun Villa, so she decided to meditate at the inn first, adjusting her condition before facing Chen Qiangsheng. After all, those half-moves of the Burning Blade Palm had caused her some injuries, though she had not told anyone.

"Bullshit, stop talking, shut your mouth..." Old Mother Gu kept trying to interrupt, but she could not stop Xu Lanin’s words.

But the serpent-men guards who charged forward were all cut in half at the waist. Before they could even feel their waists being severed, their bodies slowly began to tilt forward.

Xu Lanin felt that this brat was being evasive and stuttering, as if he had something on his mind. There was something in the way he looked at her, so she reached out to grab his sleeve, wanting to hear his inner thoughts.

Thinking it was a data usage notification from her carrier, she clicked on it out of habit, preparing to clear the alert.

"Qingqing!" Ji Feichen looked up at his phone’s caller ID. Seeing it was Yun Qingyue, he felt a surge of excitement and answered immediately.

The Junkelai Inn grew quiet. The embroidery-ball matchmaking had ended, and the wanderers of the pugilistic world had departed. A few Tartars clutched their silver, joyfully heading out to shop; this winter would be an easy one after all.