Calm

Huangfu Yuan seemed completely unaware of the fleeting subtle tension between the two and warmly invited them both to sit.

He personally poured Li Xiao a cup of wine, then filled Su Chen's cup as well, smiling as he introduced their backgrounds and accomplishments.

There was an innate friendliness in the way he spoke, making people relax without even realizing it.

Li Xiao wore a smile and nodded along from time to time, but within his heart, turbulent waves he could not calm were surging.

The Fortune and Destiny he had just seen, that Three-legged Golden Crow, was like a giant stone crashing into a lake, sending ripples spreading outward for a long, long time.

The Three-legged Golden Crow—the ancient divine bird, the totem of the Demon Emperor's true form. What did it mean for such Fortune and Destiny to appear upon one person?

Wasn't this the Chosen One from the novels?

Li Xiao sighed inwardly.

In the storybooks he had read before, there had always been figures like this.

Born ordinary yet blessed with heaven-defying Fortune and Destiny, encountering one fortuitous chance after another, aided by Benefactors, turning misfortune into safety, and ultimately climbing all the way to the summit to become someone revered by the world.

The Fortune and Destiny surrounding Su Chen was so vast and pure that it was even more exaggerated than what was written in those storybooks.

A person like this was destined for an extraordinary future.

At that thought, Li Xiao could not help developing some desire to befriend him.

Making friends with someone deeply favored by Fortune and Destiny—even if he gained nothing from it, at least he would not be dragged down by them.

So he set down his wine cup and proactively raised it toward Su Chen, his tone becoming