Chapter 57

As the taillights of the Mark X traced a graceful arc and slipped through the final sharp turn, the Mazda 6 was already left ten meters behind, and Yu Xiaohuan’s Toyota 86 had long since disappeared from sight.

The pawnshop was well located, right in the heart of the market district, but as the market was winding down, the entrance appeared deserted and sparse.

“All right, let’s not dwell on that. Hurry up and dry your hair, then we’ll get some rest,” Guan Ying said, her eyes brightening as she handed over the hairdryer and carefully smoothed the sheets once more.

The master of the hall entered again, inspecting everything meticulously. Finding no changes and all the silver in the chest intact, he finally relaxed. The earlier anxiety must have been due to haste. After relocking the padlock, a heavy weight lifted from his heart.

The wine cup in King Jin’s hand was set down just to be picked up again, filled with a red liquid indistinguishable as either blood or wine.

If it weren’t for Zhu Biao, Lin Feng would have long since become the target of universal scorn. Just as Lin Feng feared, once Zhu Biao died, those unaware of the truth would inevitably pin all the blame on him. With people like Long Yi stirring trouble in the shadows, there would be nowhere left for him to hide in the world.

Yu Yang nodded, looking at Yang Podi with full admiration. Truly worthy of the title “Iron Wall General,” he had managed to stabilize the situation in such a short time—remarkable indeed.

With a wave of his hand, he summoned the corpse of Li Qingshan and lightly tapped his dantian. A short sword shot from Li Qingshan’s neck—it was his life-bound treasure, the White Rainbow Sword.

Under the Saint Origin, one must undergo trials and scale the celestial ladder. Remarkably, those who first broke through were disciples of the Bounty Alliance like Yu Yang, who desired nothing.

Its eyes, filled with utter disappointment, seemed to be reproaching: after all these years of affection, could it be that an outsider meant more?

Upon hearing Pan Chengye’s words, Xia Tian suddenly understood much and confirmed the suspicions she had harbored moments ago. Reflecting on Fang Fumin’s obstacles in official circles, Xia Tian expressed her understanding.

It was likely that Ke Han had once seen such a cattle pond at his grandfather’s countryside home and, imitating it, fashioned a large reservoir, having people fill it with floating soil and silt, toiling over these “scraps.”

When the medicinal herb flew toward it, the arrow spirit frog quickly extended its tongue, wrapping the herb up. But just as it was happily preparing to retract its tongue, something unexpected occurred.

When Ye Yanqing returned to the vanguard camp, Feng Huirong only relaxed after confirming that he was unharmed.

Indeed, each Spirit Lord possesses their own strengths, and even a single one is invaluable, let alone eight. Yet in Han Bing’s heart, a voice kept calling, guiding him onward to the ninth level.

Yuan Shu cursed the nonsense, but even a fool could see the smile on his lips. It was clear that King Chen’s gesture had greatly boosted Yuan Shu’s pride. His heart swelled, truly feeling like an ancient feudal lord, ruling the world with all bowing in tribute.

After speaking, Xue Yuxin turned and gently raised her hand. A white barrier appeared around Han Bing—a kind of restriction spell personally set by Xue Yuxin.

Lu Qingya and the others stayed by Xiao Fan’s side, mourning with him, sharing his sorrow. Two whole days passed thus, leaving Xiao Fan haggard, his black hair disheveled, eye sockets sunken and bloodshot.

“Senior Han Bing, what are you thinking? That’s why the Eternal Demon Kun clan ceased to exist long ago, and there’s simply no way for me to advance from Half-God Realm to Origin Realm,” Huo Linfeng said, somewhat dejected.

Moreover, at the moment of her death, there was no struggle or cry for help. Whether it was due to rigor mortis or something else, Feng Mei’s lips curled slightly into a strange smile.

Kuang Yongyi found Zhao Jiaxiang’s arrogance distasteful, but this was no time to argue. In truth, he had no leisure for petty quarrels, only silently remaining vigilant.

Such changes occur subtly and continuously. Perhaps after studying away for a few years, you return to find the once bustling commercial street reduced to a dilapidated, desolate memory.

Shuoming still recalled Ji Xing’s phone number, having used it for several days. Glancing at Shang Jiaxuan’s peculiar expression, Shuoming dialed the number.

“Yes, and the sensation is even stronger than before! We can detect much more!” Qiao Guang exclaimed with delight.

Yu Tianyou and his team were meticulously sweeping for adverse factors, assisted by Tu Haitao, Zheng Xinghua, and others. Lin Xingbang also gathered dozens of teachers at the Concentration Realm to arrange security within the venue, assisted by Kuang Ling and Xiao Ling.

On the other end of the phone came Lan Yingchen’s resolute opposition. He was reluctant to make a wish, knowing he’d have to get up at five in the morning and squeeze onto a bus to such a distant place.

Then, the elegant young man came in again with a message: the dean wanted to summon Kuang Yongyi’s unit. Kuang Yongyi followed the young man out.

Hearing that voice, Shuoming almost wept with joy—purple lotus had appeared just as he was facing death.

Lin Bichi, worried that all her previous efforts would be in vain, bit her lip and headed straight to Emperor Hua to find Lin Bixiao.

Just as she stood by the water bucket, with her clothes removed down to her undergarment, the door suddenly swung open.

“All right, I’ll go with you. I’ll go by myself,” Qi Die said coldly. Seeing that he did not resist, the others felt a surge of happiness and, without suspicion of her obedience, slowly began ascending the mountain peak.

Heavily sighing inwardly, having long anticipated the unraveling, Xin Yue’s method was not a lasting solution—Yong Yan would inevitably discover it. For now, only the clever and sunny consorts remained favored; yet how had Yong Yan suddenly thought of Xin Yue?

“Why disagree? He believes much of the recent incident stems from the village’s isolation and severed ties to the outside world, leaving them helpless. He sees us as lifesavers, so now that someone is willing to help develop their village, he’s overjoyed and certainly wouldn’t refuse,” Qi Yuhan explained.

However, since the award was given before the Premier League ended, the sense of recognition was somewhat weaker than the official Premier League annual awards.

The excessive power of the Mu family could bring about a second Lü clan. Liu Xiang grew increasingly angry, even considering submitting a memorial accusing Liu Ze of retaliatory offenses.

“Gratitude? If you are grateful, then why today do you fully testify against her?” the emperor pressed on.

“What kind of exchange?” Jun Moxi unwittingly stepped again into the circle Lan Xing’er had drawn for him.

An Feng had previously struggled most with manpower issues. This time, it was easy to resolve as the company had sufficient technical staff. What was needed now were workers for physical tasks—transport, cultivation, or machinery operation—obviously, the slender technical specialists couldn’t do these. It had to be big, strong workers instead.