Volume 1, Chapter 21: The Loyal Black-Armored Guard

They were always there to ensure their safety, though in Ye Fei's eyes, these bodyguards were entirely superfluous.

The arrow struck Lang Zhan in the left shoulder. The initial piercing of flesh and bone was not particularly painful, but a heartbeat later, he heard his own heart let out a thunderous boom. Suddenly, the blood in his veins felt as if it were boiling, flushing his entire body a deep, burning red and causing his vision to blur and overlap with a crimson haze.

"I haven't even had enough for myself! Don't you dare lay a finger on my braised pork," my master replied heartlessly.

Xuanyuan Qinglie and Xuanyuan Qingxuan exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief mirrored in the other’s eyes.

The two sides began to reminisce, finally establishing a preliminary recognition of each other's identities. However, Lin Zhennan concealed the fact that he was being hunted by the Eastern Depot, claiming instead that the imperial court, out of consideration for its former ministers, had dispatched men to protect him.

Pushing open the heavy, carved rosewood doors, Liu Jiayu found Wang Fang lying there receiving a facial treatment, while her personal aesthetician massaged the pressure points on her scalp.

"I truly envy you, being able to eat such delicious pastries every day," Wang Fang said with a feigned sigh.

Qiao Yuge’s displeasure was obvious, and Yi Fanlu noticed it too. A cloud of worry instantly crossed the face of Wu Yuhang’s father, though he rarely interfered in his son’s private affairs.

Ling Xiao poured all her energy into Gu Feng; she was now even worried that the Primordial Stone would not be enough for his breakthrough.

As the seed of the Nine-Child Primordial Lotus was refined, Gu Feng’s body was enveloped in a powerful, radiant energy.

During his seclusion, Wu Yue would exhaust his cultivation to the point of emptiness with every batch of pills he refined, only to then exert all his effort into cultivation and recovery.

Qi Ying briefly examined his recent gains, which were indeed substantial. These cultivation resources were precious; even if he could not use them himself, they could be given to others.

Ye Fei was so moved he nearly wept; this "sincere" friendship was truly an overwhelming burden.

"I want to," Tantai Li said, her face filled with hatred. "I wish I could tear those people into a thousand pieces to satisfy the bitterness in my heart, but they have too many experts..."

As a Japanese man who had opened his eyes to the world, Inukai Kazuo felt the power wielded by these people.

Naturally, as things stood, Murong Susu would not simply hand things over just because Ye Fei asked, unless he resorted to force.

Jiang Liushi’s spear technique was incredibly fierce. The onlookers, who were merely survivors watching the spectacle and not involved in the conflict, only marveled at his skill, never considering the necessity of his weaponry.

"So, you mean the only way forward is to conquer these Immortal Kings first?" Although the Sea God’s words were somewhat cryptic, Zhou Yun could vaguely grasp their meaning.

With two masters at the Great Emperor level by his side, wouldn't activating the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Shifting Array be a simple task?

If one wished to make the Dragon Souls submit, or even tame them, one must never target the dragon bones themselves.

After a ten-minute flight, Nina landed on the roof of a bar. As dusk began to fall, the sound of boisterous singing rose from the building below.

With a thought, the purple-azure ring on Chu Feng’s finger flashed with brilliant light. A vast array of rare spiritual materials appeared before him, and he began to refine them into his body one by one in a specific sequence.

He had become a devoted fan of Fang Zhihan, having completely forgotten how unreliable he had once told her the man was. Yu Gangan gave him a sharp roll of her eyes.

"Alright, let's move on." Ignoring Song Ya’s embarrassed expression, Bai Feng simply told Song Ya, Song Xun, and Yuan Fei to hold hands, then activated a teleportation talisman. The four were engulfed in countless white specks of light before vanishing from the spot.

Li Chongyan was accustomed to such scenes and paid them no mind, entering the front hall and lounging in a chair. The more often he visited, the less he cared about concealing his identity, especially when it came to the Cao residence servants, whom he had begun to treat like palace attendants.

"Does this have anything to do with the hospital's name?" Natasha appeared calm, though her foot on the accelerator gave a slight, involuntary twitch.

For Xu Yang, this was not his first time in Changhe County, though it was the original inhabitant of this body who had been here, not the current Xu Yang.

When the old Marquis was alive, the Duke of Chen still showed respect, but once the old Marquis passed, the Duke turned heartless, even going so far as to call off the engagement at the funeral hall.

He did not care for himself, but he could not control the tongues of others; he did not want her to suffer grievances from outsiders just because she was with him.

"Alright, I understand. By the way, shall we race to see who reaches the Beast-Summoning Forest first?" Bai Feng suddenly thought of something and smiled at the long-sword-wielding youth.

Lu Heng’s lowered face flashed with anger for a moment before turning into helplessness; he bit his tongue and remained silent, his mouth full of bitterness.

Furthermore, scarcity breeds value. The Azure Dragon Flower was vital for the Transformation Void Pill and the Heavenly Spirit Pill. If the young man in silver bought it and sold it under the name of the Fire Cloud Inn, the price could likely be raised even higher, potentially netting a profit of over eight thousand Yellow Jade-grade Profound Martial Stones.

"Deputy Director Li of the County Public Security Bureau—how about that? Scared now, aren't you?" Wang Hongsheng, assuming the other party was intimidated, smugly straightened his clothes, believing he had regained the upper hand.

"There's no need for thanks, but considering you've been a frequent visitor to this temple, you can just treat us to lunch in a while." Wu Yi’s handsome, unrestrained, and cheerful demeanor only added to his charm.

Just as Qin Qiu started her shift, several order processors in the workshop were chatting and cracking melon seeds before the boss arrived.

Surveying the surroundings and seeing the dense swarms of Cloud-Piercing Birds, even Fang Junnan, who was accustomed to grand scenes, could not help but feel a chill in his heart.

A sudden increase in cultivation could only be the result of the innate charm energy. It seems... something truly happened. Unfortunately, having drunk too much last night, I felt absolutely nothing.

As Long Chen continued to retreat rapidly, he once again manipulated the Profound Ice Mirror to release an icy chill, forcing the red-robed, bald man, who was flying toward him at high speed, to come to a sudden, jarring halt in mid-air.

Seeing this, the crowd dared not move a step, let alone utter a sound. They all looked at Long Chen, desperate to know what was happening.

Meanwhile, no one knew how many shifting void black holes remained, constantly erupting from the fissures in the seabed and swallowing the flowing magma.

Those from humble backgrounds, as long as their talent was sufficient, could still rely on their own efforts to attain formidable strength and arrive at this forest of steles early to accept the trials.

It was only after realizing this that Ting Shu understood why the Altaria was able to master the Flame of Life—it was truly a stroke of serendipity.

Princess Sophie retreated at just the right moment; after all, the competition was not yet over, and lingering on the stage would have been overbearing. However, the subsequent princess competitions became utterly flavorless, and Yang Yi once again found himself in a position of complete insignificance.