Suppressing Jun Xiaoyao

The greatest opportunity I have encountered in this life!

Su Qingyao was stunned, staring at Lu Yuan who was right before her eyes, her vision blurring.

It was as if she were meeting Lu Yuan anew for the first time.

And this marked the third time she had refreshed her understanding of Lu Yuan.

The first time was when she learned of Lu Yuan from Lin Hao; after some investigation, she confirmed that Lu Yuan had descended from the Upper Realm.

The second time was during yesterday's spar; through that match, Su Qingyao understood that Lu Yuan not only had a stronger background than her, but his talent and strength far surpassed hers as well.

The third time was now.

"Just how many secrets does this man hold?"

Gazing at Lu Yuan, Su Qingyao felt as if she were looking into a thick layer of fog.

Taking a deep breath, Su Qingyao steadied her emotions and asked, "What does Young Master intend to do?"

Lu Yuan spoke, "Naturally, I'm going to help you pass the assessment."

"But I'm still far from it, and you yourself said that Break Limit cannot be interfered with by external forces." Su Qingyao was confused and uncertain.

"With me, nothing is impossible. Your inability to Break Limit is not due to a lack of talent or comprehension; it's entirely because the cultivation environment on Tianxiao Continent is too gentle. How can a towering tree that stands unyielding be nurtured in a greenhouse?" Lu Yuan's eyes were deep, and an overwhelming confidence rose from him.

Gentle?

Su Qingyao was dumbfounded. Was the cultivation environment on Tianxiao Continent gentle?

At least in her view, it was anything but gentle.

The survival of the fittest, where the strong reign supreme, was already fully embodied on Tianxiao Continent.

Yet in Lu Yuan's eyes, such a brutal environment was considered gentle?

At that moment, Lu Yuan continued, "What you lack is not talent, nor comprehension, but life-and-death tempering. Between life and death, Break Limit comes most easily."

Su Qingyao's heart trembled, and she had an ominous premonition.

"Young Master, do you mean..."

Lu Yuan smiled gently and said, "That's right, exactly what you're thinking. Anyway, there's still a month left; that should be enough."

Su Qingyao's small face instantly turned pale.

Slap! Slap!

Lu Yuan clapped his hands, and Er Gouzi slowly walked in from outside the palace.

Standing two meters tall, his body wreathed in demonic flames, a pair of blood-red eyes stared straight at Su Qingyao, as if looking at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Raising five fingers, Lu Yuan said, "You have five breaths to escape. After five breaths, Er Gouzi will pursue you with full force and will not hold back. If you unfortunately die at Er Gouzi's hands, I can only offer my apologies. If you succeed in surviving, then congratulations—even if you haven't Broken Limit, I will still send you to study and train at the academy under the Taiyuan Divine Court."

"During this month, you may use any method: seduction, finding help, traps, hiding—anything, as long as you stay alive."

Lu Yuan's tone was calm, but within that calm tone was absolute ruthlessness.

The more she listened, the paler Su Qingyao's face became.

She had thought that after serving him all this time, even if Lu Yuan had no feelings for her, he would at least consider her one of his own. But now she realized she was wrong—terribly wrong!

She understood very well that Lu Yuan was not joking with those words just now!

At this point, Lu Yuan said, "I forgot to mention, Er Gouzi is not a native creature of Tianxiao Continent. Do not underestimate him."

"So now, the game begins."

"Five..."

Whoosh!

Su Qingyao's figure shot out of the palace in an instant, bursting with full power as she fled toward the horizon, covering nearly a thousand miles per second.

At that moment, Su Qingyao felt like cursing.

To hell with being a maidservant, to hell with the Upper Realm, to hell with the Taiyuan Divine Court—she just wanted to survive now.

The implication of Lu Yuan's last words was very clear.

Er Gouzi was also a creature from the Upper Realm.

And any being capable of descending from the Upper Realm to the Lower Realm was uniformly at the Emperor-Sealing Immortal Perfection stage.

A peak Emperor-Sealing Immortal powerhouse going all out to hunt her, a peak King Immortal Realm cultivator—Su Qingyao had never experienced anything this thrilling in her entire life.

Watching Su Qingyao flee farther and farther away, Er Gouzi looked at Lu Yuan and said, "Master, do I really have to go all out to hunt this person? If I unleash my full power, it will be very difficult for her to survive. With her looks, wouldn't it be better to let her serve you?"

Lu Yuan's expression was calm as he spoke, "I have no use for trash by my side. Just go all out. If she lives, it is her fortune; if she dies, then that is her fate."

Er Gouzi seemed to ponder this.

Lu Yuan waved his hand, "Time's up."

"Yes, Master."

With that, Er Gouzi vanished beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Inside the hall, Lu Yuan was deep in thought when suddenly his brow twitched, and a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.

Just then.

From not far outside the hall, a cacophony of clamor and angry shouts rang out.

"Divine Son, this is Her Majesty's bedchamber—you cannot barge in! If you persist, don't blame us for using force."

"All of you, get out of my way! Lu Yuan, I know you're in there. Come out and face me. Hiding behind a woman's skirts—what kind of man are you?"

That was Jun Xiaoyao's voice.

For some time now.

Jun Xiaoyao and the vast information network of the Jun Family had been investigating one thing: where Lu Yuan was.

Today, their efforts finally paid off.

The Jun Family's extensive intelligence network had detected that Su Qingyao's movements had been suspicious lately—she often holed up deep in the palace and rarely came out.

As soon as Jun Xiaoyao learned this, he instantly guessed that Lu Yuan might be here.

So he threw caution to the wind and stormed in.

Hearing the commotion outside, Lu Yuan found it somewhat amusing. Was this the King of Hell not coming, but a minor demon delivering itself to his doorstep?

Still, since the man had come, it wouldn't do to pretend he hadn't noticed.

Rising, Lu Yuan took a single step and appeared at the center of the conflict.

Behind him stood the palace guards, tense and ready for battle.

Before him was Jun Xiaoyao, clad in a golden robe, his aura fierce and his expression haughty.

"Lu Yuan, you cowardly turtle, you've finally shown your face. Die!"

Jun Xiaoyao roared, swinging his fist in a crushing strike.

Jun Xiaoyao had never actually seen Lu Yuan before, but the moment Lu Yuan appeared, he recognized him.

There was no help for it—Lu Yuan was too handsome, his bearing too unique and noble. The instant he appeared, he seemed to become the center of heaven and earth, everything else paling in comparison.

So much so that Lu Yuan's arrival completely eclipsed Jun Xiaoyao's radiance.

Whether from humiliation or shame, Jun Xiaoyao struck immediately.

He wanted to kill Lu Yuan on the spot, because Lu Yuan's presence made him feel like a passerby, a supporting character—a feeling that deeply unsettled Jun Xiaoyao, as if something that belonged to him was being stolen away by fate.

A blazing golden light flared, and a pair of dazzling golden fists, coursing with golden blood, bore down in an instant.

This punch carried immense momentum and terrifying power. Where the fist force passed, the air wailed and fled.

The palace guards braced themselves as if facing a great enemy. Even though they knew Jun Xiaoyao's attack wasn't aimed at them, it still made them want to drop their weapons and flee.

Yet, facing Jun Xiaoyao's punch, Lu Yuan's expression never changed. Deep in his eyes, there was even a faint trace of mockery. Then, Lu Yuan slapped out like he was swatting a fly.

Boom!

Dust flew everywhere. Where Jun Xiaoyao had stood, there was now a human-shaped crater.

Jun Xiaoyao lay dumbfounded in the pit, eyes wide, a million curses racing through his mind.

He tried to move, but every bone in his body had been shattered by Lu Yuan's slap.

Lu Yuan looked up at the sky and sighed softly. "Forget it. I'll let you live a little longer."

With a wave of his hand, Lu Yuan imprisoned Jun Xiaoyao inside an Emperor Weapon.

Just now, the moment Lu Yuan's killing intent toward Jun Xiaoyao stirred, the malice of the world had begun to stir. If Lu Yuan had killed Jun Xiaoyao at that moment, the Heavenly Dao of the Tianxiao Continent would surely have erupted.

Jun Xiaoyao was among the top-ranked of all the Children of Destiny.

Killing him would bring too great a backlash from the Heavenly Dao.

Admittedly, Lu Yuan wasn't afraid, but if he did so, it would inevitably alert the other Children of Destiny.

The Children of Destiny of the Tianxiao Continent had not yet all gathered at the Ancient Stone Tablet, and Lu Yuan didn't want to startle the snakes at this point.

So temporarily imprisoning Jun Xiaoyao was the optimal solution.