The First Imperial City was packed with people. The crowds jostled shoulder to shoulder, but as Lu Yuan walked through them, an invisible barrier seemed to surround him, automatically parting the flow of people.
Lu Yuan lowered his brows slightly, deep in thought.
"Lin Hao must have been reborn more than once. Yet he deliberately wanted to kill Dongfang Baitian. Could it be that in the future, Dongfang Baitian and the others would all achieve extraordinary things, to the point that Lin Hao wanted to kill them at the first opportunity and eliminate future troubles?"
The Villain Alliance had merely been something Lu Yuan had thrown together on a whim. He had never expected them to become particularly powerful in the future.
More specifically, he had only regarded them as bait to attract the Children of Destiny.
But Lin Hao's urgent actions had piqued Lu Yuan's interest.
Lu Yuan's eyes shifted slightly. "If that's really the case, I might as well invest a little more in those twelve people. Perhaps they'll bring me some unexpected surprises."
Lu Yuan had two objectives in coming to the Tianxiao Continent.
His first objective was to kill all the Children of Destiny and obtain Villain Value to exchange for Demon Body Inhibitors.
His second objective was to unify the Tianxiao Continent and turn it into his own private territory.
An inhibitor could only suppress it. The Demon Body would eventually erupt. The more fiercely it was suppressed now, the more violently it would erupt in the future.
Therefore, Lu Yuan needed his own foundation and his own forces.
Moreover, there could be no good people among those forces.
In the future, Lu Yuan would inevitably have to massacre cities and destroy kingdoms. Good people could not follow him forever; they might even hold him back.
Lu Yuan suddenly stopped because a woman was standing not far away.
The woman had a noble and elegant bearing. A white veil covered her face, her brows resembled distant hills, and her eyes held the clarity of autumn waters. She wore a white dress that trailed along the ground and stood quietly in place, watching Lu Yuan.
When she saw that Lu Yuan had noticed her, the woman gave a slight curtsy and said, "Su Qingyao pays her respects to the Young Master."
Lu Yuan raised his brows slightly. "Su Qingyao? The Empress of the First Central Empire?"
"What do you want with me?"
Lu Yuan knew of this woman. Over the past thousand years, she had been, without question, the greatest prodigy on the Tianxiao Continent.
A thousand years ago, despite being a woman, she had led a group of experts and forcefully established the First Central Empire.
She was known for her iron-fisted methods and peerless talent, while her beauty was hailed as the greatest in the Tianxiao Continent in nearly ten thousand years.
Beneath her veil, Su Qingyao's face curved into a faint smile. "I wish to follow by the Young Master's side, serving you tea and water and warming your bed."
"Oh?" Lu Yuan's eyes shifted slightly. He was somewhat surprised by Su Qingyao's bluntness.
"What's your purpose?"
Su Qingyao did not answer immediately. Instead, she studied Lu Yuan with a pair of autumn eyes before asking, "Did the Young Master come from the Upper Realm?"
"Whether I did or not, does that have anything to do with my question?" Lu Yuan replied indifferently.
Su Qingyao smiled faintly. "If the Young Master came from the Upper Realm, then Qingyao's purpose is to follow you forever."
"If not, Qingyao is willing to share the First Central Empire with you."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan understood Su Qingyao's purpose.
He had come from the Upper Realm and would eventually return there. Su Qingyao's desire to follow him forever meant: I, Su Qingyao, can follow you, Lu Yuan—but you must take me with you to the Upper Realm.
This was an ambitious woman.
Lu Yuan's expression remained indifferent. "Wanting to follow me isn't enough. You don't earn that qualification by saying a few words. Tell me your value!"
Su Qingyao was somewhat stunned. Lu Yuan had actually not agreed immediately.
One had to know that even with her veil on, her noble and elegant bearing, her figure that stood proudly among all women, and her eyes that seemed to hold a pool of autumn water could enchant half the men in the world.
How could a beauty like her, willingly offering to become his maidservant, still require consideration?
Su Qingyao had not expected this. She even felt somewhat indignant, so she removed the veil from her face, revealing features beautiful enough to astonish the world.
"Young Master, is this enough now?"
Looking at Su Qingyao, Lu Yuan had to admit that among all the beauties he had seen so far, her appearance was easily in the top ten.
If Su Qingyao lived on the Dark Continent, countless outstanding young men would surely follow her.
But that still wasn't enough!
Lu Yuan shook his head. His heart was as still as stagnant water, without the slightest ripple. "Not enough. If you want to follow me, your face alone won't do."
"Are you a eunuch?"
Seeing that Lu Yuan's eyes had not stirred in the slightest, Su Qingyao could not stop herself from blurting it out. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized what she had said and hurriedly covered her lips, a trace of panic flashing through her eyes.
Oh heavens, what did I just say?
Lu Yuan's face darkened, but his excellent composure kept him from becoming angry. He said calmly, "If you have nothing else, you can leave. Don't disturb my stroll."
Lu Yuan lifted his foot and continued forward. He passed by Su Qingyao, ignoring her completely.
Su Qingyao's thoughts were somewhat chaotic. For the first time, she began to doubt her own charm. At the same time, she grew curious about the Upper Realm and wondered:
Could every woman in the Upper Realm be like me? Otherwise, how could there be a man in this world who remained so calm and indifferent when facing me? Even a eunuch couldn't possibly do that!
There were eunuchs in the imperial palace, but even they could not remain as unmoved as Lu Yuan when they saw her.
Seeing Lu Yuan walk farther and farther away, Su Qingyao seemed to make an earth-shaking decision and said, "I can give you the First Central Empire."
However, Lu Yuan did not stop walking.
"The First Central Empire is something this Young Master could destroy with the turn of his hand. Its value isn't enough."
"Even that isn't enough?"
Su Qingyao's face went deathly pale. The First Central Empire was her greatest pride.
Her beauty was not enough, and the First Central Empire was not enough either.
Su Qingyao was completely at a loss and could only watch Lu Yuan walk farther and farther away.
Just as Su Qingyao was about to despair, Lu Yuan suddenly stopped.
Su Qingyao's eyes lit up slightly. "Did he regret it?"
Lu Yuan slowly turned around. As if he had thought of something, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Wanting to follow me isn't impossible. However, it depends on your value."
"I'll give you an evaluation period. While I remain on the Tianxiao Continent, if you can satisfy me, you may stay by my side."
"But before that, you need to do one thing."
Su Qingyao listened attentively.
A mysterious smile curled up at the corner of Lu Yuan's lips. "Spread the news throughout the Tianxiao Continent that you have acknowledged me as your master. Tell the outside world that I forced you to acknowledge me as your master."
"What?"
Su Qingyao's expression changed. She was the Empress, the peerless empress known throughout the world.
If this news spread throughout the Tianxiao Continent, her reputation would be ruined.
"What? You're unwilling to do even that?" Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, then shook his head. "It seems I overestimated your resolve."
With that, Lu Yuan stopped paying attention to her and continued walking forward.
However, he had not gone far when Su Qingyao's voice came from behind, her teeth clenched tightly.
"Fine, I agree."
Lu Yuan's footsteps paused slightly before he continued forward.
Su Qingyao understood that Lu Yuan had accepted her.
After Su Qingyao's figure disappeared, Lu Yuan remained where he was, deep in thought.
He had only one purpose in accepting Su Qingyao.
She was beautiful—famous throughout the world for her beauty.
That also meant that countless pursuers and admirers stood behind Su Qingyao, and among them, there were likely quite a few Children of Destiny.
If those Children of Destiny learned that their goddess had been forcibly taken as someone's maidservant, how would they react?
Wasn't rescuing a beauty in distress exactly what the Children of Destiny loved to do?
After all, besides the name Child of Destiny, they had another name known to everyone—
Harem Kings!