Luo Feng raised his wine cup and respectfully offered Qin Anlan a toast.
"Thank you, Young Lord of the Divine Marquis, for recognizing my worth. Should you have any need in the future, I, Luo Feng, am willing to brave fire and water without hesitation."
Everyone saw through it at a glance.
Though Luo Feng had put it tactfully, he was making his intentions clear.
He was willing to serve Qin Anlan like an ox or a horse.
Whether in strength or background, Luo Feng was quite outstanding.
Since he had taken the initiative to offer himself up,
Qin Anlan did not mind taking in such a lackey.
Taking the wine Luo Feng offered, Qin Anlan drained it in one gulp.
Then he smiled faintly. "It is merely a small matter. Brother Luo, there is no need to take it to heart. Hurry and rise."
"Thank you, Young Lord of the Divine Marquis, for your favor."
Luo Feng was overjoyed.
Qin Anlan's words were tantamount to indirectly accepting him as a subordinate.
With Qin Anlan, the Young Lord of the Divine Marquis, looking after him from now on, Luo Feng would not only be able to run rampant through Heavenly Firmament Academy without restraint.
Looking across the entire Heavenly Flame Empire, no one would dare offend him either.
He had struck it rich.
After attaching himself to Qin Anlan, the Young Lord of the Divine Marquis, Luo Feng had already won beyond belief.
"It is the honor of Heavenly Firmament Academy that the Young Lord of the Divine Marquis has graced us with his presence."
"If the Young Lord of the Divine Marquis does not mind, this old man would like to offer you a toast."
The many elders present, as well as Heavenly Firmament Academy's Direct Disciples, were no fools.
They had human relations and worldly ways wrapped around their fingers.
In order to flatter Qin Anlan, they stepped forward one after another to toast him.
At the same time, they secretly felt displeased with Luo Feng.
Who told that flatterer to beat them to the punch, buttering up Qin Anlan and becoming his lackey?
Why had they never noticed before
that fellow who had always acted so arrogantly, looking down on everyone and treating no one as worthy of his notice,
had cultivated the art of fawning to such a consummate level?
How long had it been? They had only just met, yet he had already begun flattering Qin Anlan, the Young Lord of the Divine Marquis.
He had even gotten the chance to address Qin Anlan as a brother.
Everyone's hearts brimmed with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
As the head of Heavenly Firmament Academy, the Left Prime Minister had taken everything in.
Old and calculating, with a city-deep mind,
he still wore a genial smile on the surface.
He even apologized to Qin Anlan on the spot over Ye Qingyun's matter.
No one knew what medicine this Lord Left Prime Minister was selling in his gourd.
Nor did anyone know what he was truly thinking at this very moment.
Even Xuanyuan Xiong Ba, the First Prince of the current dynasty, put on no airs.
Instead, he took the initiative to offer Qin Anlan, his cousin, a toast.
There even seemed to be an intention to win Qin Anlan over in his words and actions.
Even the First Prince and the Left Prime Minister were trying to win Qin Anlan over, so the elders of Heavenly Firmament Academy worked even harder, crazily flattering Qin Anlan, the Young Lord of the Divine Marquis.
They only hoped this Young Lord of the Divine Marquis would remember them.
If he could give them a little support, they would soar into the sky entirely.
After the banquet ended, Qin Anlan returned to Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate with Liu Ruxue.
Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
Inside Qin Anlan's bedchamber.
"Undress."
Qin Anlan fixed his gaze on Liu Ruxue and spoke calmly.
Liu Ruxue clenched her teeth.
She knew very clearly what she was about to face.
The man standing before her was the mortal enemy who had destroyed the entire Liu Family and killed her parents, one with whom she shared hatred that could not exist beneath the same sky.
Yet now,
she still had to swallow humiliation and serve Qin Anlan.
Just as Liu Ruxue wanted to refuse, even gritting her teeth as she prepared to strike now and perish together with Qin Anlan,
an image involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
It was the First Prince's earnest instruction to her.
It was an inspiring tale of King Goujian of Yue, who slept on brushwood and tasted gall.
When King Goujian of Yue, a king himself, saw his state destroyed and his family ruined, not only did he refuse to give up, he was even willing to humble himself before his enemy.
He even gave his queen to that enemy.
No matter how great the hardship he suffered, he never gave up.
To spur himself on, King Goujian of Yue slept on brushwood and tasted gall, engraving his mission into his heart.
In the end,
three thousand armored men of Yue swallowed Wu whole.
King Goujian of Yue successfully destroyed the State of Wu and avenged his hatred.
Compared to the sacrifices King Goujian of Yue had made, what Liu Ruxue had to sacrifice now was merely the body before her. What was so difficult about that?
Liu Ruxue gritted her teeth and undressed Qin Anlan.
Then, without a word, she bared herself and lay steadily on the bed, her face expressionless.
Only a trail of tears flowed down uncontrollably.
It represented what Liu Ruxue was suffering at this moment.
"Ding! The host's actions conform to villainous behavior. The host has received 100,000 Villain Points and 200 Destiny Points."
As expected of a female lead.
This wave of gains truly pleased both body and mind.
As for Liu Ruxue, she had not sincerely submitted to him at all.
Even if Qin Anlan obtained Liu Ruxue's body, he would not obtain her heart.
Qin Anlan felt
that he was interested only in that snow-white body.
As for Liu Ruxue's heart,
he was not some cannibalistic fiend. What use did he have for her heart?
The night passed without a word.
Inside the great hall.
A woman was gently massaging Qin Anlan's shoulders.
The woman was graceful and enchanting, a beauty capable of toppling a nation.
In both figure and appearance, she surpassed Liu Ruxue.
The powerful aura she radiated was even less something Liu Ruxue could compare to.
This woman was none other than Ming Yue, the master of Bright Moon Pavilion.
As the master of Bright Moon Pavilion and a Peak Divine Venerable expert,
Ming Yue's status was equivalent to that of the leader of a second-rate faction.
Looking across the entire Heavenly Flame Empire, she possessed extraordinary Status and Position.
Yet at this moment, before Qin Anlan, she was like an obedient little kitten, serving him with a gentle expression.
In Ming Yue's heart, she had long regarded Qin Anlan as her master.
In her view, serving her lord was only natural and a duty she could not refuse.
"Continue monitoring Ye Qingyun. In addition, have the people of Bright Moon Pavilion find a way to infiltrate Heavenly Firmament Academy and the First Prince's residence."
"But remember this well: do not let the First Prince notice, and do not let the Left Prime Minister discover any clue."
"Understood."
Upon hearing Qin Anlan's orders, Ming Yue's gentle expression turned serious.
She lowered her head and respectfully nodded in agreement.
Qin Anlan nodded in satisfaction.
Such a beauty, a Peak Divine Venerable with fair skin, lovely features, and outstanding temperament, stood humbly before him and allowed him to take whatever he wished.
The feeling of holding supreme power in his grasp was truly incomparable.
"Oh, right. Has anything major happened in the Capital City lately?"
Qin Anlan suddenly recalled something and asked without turning his head.
Bright Moon Pavilion's influence spread throughout the Heavenly Flame Empire.
Especially near the Capital City, it had countless informants.
Therefore,
every rustle of wind and blade of grass in the Capital City was under Bright Moon Pavilion's surveillance.
After pondering for a moment, Ming Yue replied softly, "Reporting to Master, in recent days, a Demonic Cultivator has entered the Capital City."
"Because the other party has kept an extremely low profile and appeared and vanished like a ghost, although many factions have noticed him, they have yet to capture any trace of him."
A Demonic Cultivator?
Upon hearing those two words, Qin Anlan raised an eyebrow.
A venomous scheme immediately rose in his heart.
Turning back, he looked at Ming Yue and ordered, "Capture this person immediately. This Young Lord has a great use for him."
"Understood."
Ming Yue nodded directly in agreement.
As though, in her eyes, capturing a Demonic Cultivator was nothing more than a trivial matter.
Poor Demonic Cultivator expert. He had only just infiltrated the Capital City and had not yet provoked Qin Anlan.
He had not even met Qin Anlan.
Yet his fate had already been decided by Qin Anlan with effortless ease.
Before you continue