Volume One, Chapter 28: "Yaoyao, are you really giving me this bottle of perfume?"

The Empress Dowager was furious beyond measure. "When Yun Qingchu first arrived in Pingzhou, His Majesty had not even seen her face. Are you trying to take advantage of my old age and senility with such words?"

A father's love is like a mountain—deep and unspoken, steadfast yet rarely displayed. Of course, whether there was truly paternal affection between her and Jiang Liushen remained to be seen; blood ties make a world of difference.

"Since I've nothing much to do in the parlor, why not stay here and chat with you? Isn't that better?" Ji Qingmo said.

Everyone's eyes, intentionally or not, swept over her, yet Yang Youhe seemed entirely oblivious, sitting motionless in her seat. From beginning to end, even the curve of the veil over her face remained unchanged.

To speak first of the corvée labor: from the age of twenty, citizens of the Han Empire were registered for mandatory service. They reported themselves and began fulfilling one month of labor each year, always within their home county.

Especially striking were those almond-shaped eyes, as if shrouded in the morning mist over a tranquil lake, hazy and indistinct, with lips tinted and gently pressed together.

As Mo Nian saw it, Shi Sheng was different from Ji Qingmo—lacking aggression, even willing to cooperate with treatment, and never insisting on staying by force.

As for Jiang Di, who once swaggered so ferociously, Master Jiang Wu now seemed as if banished, as though the position of heir was forever lost to him.

Seven days passed as he sat there. When the sun set, the man in green robes withdrew his energy, rose, and left the house. Before departing, he tapped her clothes with a fingertip, mending them with a touch.

Meanwhile, Sun Mingyuan, who was thrown from the arena, did not display the open murderous intent of Xu Zhaolong, but his face was clouded and his body radiated humiliation and anger, unable to conceal it.

Looking closely, the massive tree was now encased in a giant crystal. The crystal sealed every direction, repressing the very void, emanating a sense of eternal constancy. Clearly, it was this very move that had allowed the tree to survive the terrifying cataclysm just moments before.

Then the old man ordered his men to draw their swords. But to his mild surprise, though the sword seemed carelessly stuck in the ground, a burly man could not pull it free. This only convinced him further that it was a divine weapon of extraordinary power.

Moreover, the other party was right—he had indeed only emerged from the Netherworld when he was near this place.

You can't blame others for every little mishap; if you do, Zheng Bing will end up friendless. After all, in Chang'an, it was Lando who kept her company most often.

Zhai Qingshan merely watched with cold indifference as Zhu Xingnong, Bao Genyuan, and Yang Jianguo turned ashen-faced. He paid them no heed and continued ordering his men to load Jian Zhixing and the others onto the carriage.

Judging by this, Lei Rui was already certain: the ambulance must have been stopped at the roadblock. That’s why Tiepi and Jazz were so ruthless at this moment.

At the side, Zi watched the great spectacle of the world being remade—a feat akin to saving creation itself—from start to finish, but her delicate face remained perfectly calm.

But after all these years, faced with such a familiar scene and recalling the words he once spoke, Qingge was finally moved. For a moment, the sharp pain in her chest seemed to ease; she reached out, wishing to grasp his outstretched hand.

As for the Guo household's deep cooperation with the Sanbao Guild, the monthly profit from the latter exceeded twenty thousand strings of cash. This was a money tree; even if they were unwilling, they had no choice but to swallow their anger.

Already in a foul mood, having someone add to their troubles only made it worse. Zhou Jiu certainly wasn't about to let the tiger-striped parrot off easily, so he simply grabbed the creature and gave it a good plucking.

Chen Teng's casual manner greatly angered Yu Qianqian's bodyguard leader, who wanted to teach him a lesson but was stopped by Yu Qianqian herself.

As for Lin Jia and the others, wanting to watch a duel between grandmasters meant courting death—should the shockwaves of the battle touch them, they would not survive.

The new students felt the very earth sinking underfoot, the world trembling around them. An immense pressure swept across the square; something seemed to rupture below, and martial energy surged skyward like a fountain.

At the very least, they all naturally presented themselves in ordinary attire before others, rather than always displaying their most refined, private appearance.

Ye Qiu was thinking of departing, wishing to leave the battlefield to the two of them. Yet before he could exit the floating palace, a sudden surge of energy locked onto him.

Those who had just complained about the stone stele's reliability were now utterly convinced of its accuracy.

"Is Teacher Cao your uncle?" Mu Chendong asked Su Zhi'ai, watching the disheveled figure of Cao Bucheng retreat.

The youth carrying the black sword on his back, though tall and slender, was instantly recognized by a sharp-eyed elder as being no older than fourteen.

Shangguan Dao frowned. Though he disliked Ye Qiu's arrogant bearing, he endured it—after all, they needed this man to cure the old master's illness.

"How did we end up forced to this point by that idiot?" Lan Che said with some resentment, gazing into the distance at the ferocious ancient god.

Her last attack had been far too weak; she had even prepared herself to be knocked aside.

Song Anran stood helpless, unsure why Yang was crying. Was he hungry?

Yet among those of equal strength, the higher-blooded demon clans could easily command tens or even hundreds of billions of celestial stones.